Conference Agenda

Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite Internet systems are emerging as a major shift in global telecommunications infrastructure. Unlike terrestrial broadband networks, which rely on nationally licensed fiber networks and mobile towers, LEO systems operate through orbital constellations and portable user terminals that can provide connectivity independent of domestic telecommunications infrastructure. While this architecture has been widely discussed as a tool for expanding connectivity in underserved regions, its deployment in conflict and politically contested environments raises important questions for telecommunications governance.

This paper asks: How does the deployment of LEO satellite Internet in conflict zones challenge conventional models of telecommunications governance and regulatory authority? Telecommunications regulation has historically been territorially organized. States license operators, regulate spectrum use, and authorize infrastructure within their jurisdiction under internationally coordinated frameworks such as those developed by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). LEO systems potentially disrupt this model because terminals are portable and services can be activated remotely, allowing connectivity to be enabled even where domestic regulatory approval is absent.

The paper employs a comparative qualitative case study approach examining four politically sensitive deployments: Ukraine, the Gaza Strip, Sudan, and Iran. The analysis draws on publicly available regulatory documents, ITU filings, government statements, operator announcements, international media reporting, and documented timelines of terminal distribution and activation. These materials are used to trace how LEO services were authorized, contested, or restricted in each case and how governments, international institutions, and private operators responded.

The study draws on insights from Global Political Economy and Critical Infrastructure Studies to examine how the design of communications infrastructure redistributes regulatory authority and power among states, private firms, and international governance institutions.

The paper contributes to contemporary communications policy debates by shifting the focus from access and performance to governance and institutional authority. While discussions of satellite broadband typically emphasize coverage expansion, this study demonstrates that LEO architectures also reshape the regulatory foundations of telecommunications systems.

Preliminary findings suggest that LEO deployment in conflict settings functions as a stress test for telecommunications governance. Access to terminals is politically mediated rather than purely market-driven, private satellite operators exercise substantial discretion over activation and geographic coverage, and sovereignty over connectivity becomes conditional, reinforced through geopolitical alliances in some contexts and bypassed in others.

As LEO constellations expand globally, these governance challenges are likely to become increasingly relevant beyond conflict zones. Orbital connectivity therefore represents not simply an extension of terrestrial broadband, but a structural transformation in the foundations of telecommunications governance.