Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether a (a) procurement process was conducted and (b) contract has been signed for Starlink satellite internet constellation to provide the 3,000 low-Earth orbit small satellites to help very hard to reach places access broadband; and for what reasons OneWeb in which the Government owns an interest has not been included in the trial.

The trials will assess the technological capability of, and end-user response to, new low latency Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite platforms across an expected maximum of 15 locations. The decision to use Starlink equipment for the first four sites, which are located in National Parks, was based on the immediate availability of equipment, user need and the requirement to use unobstructive antenna of a size appropriate to the locations.

All commercial decisions related to these trials have been, and will be, taken in accordance with the Department’s commercial purchasing guidelines, ensuring that the Government does not show undue favour to any single supplier. As previously announced, DCMS remains in discussion with OneWeb on how they might contribute to trials at larger and more complex sites in future, with the expectation that both Starlink and OneWeb systems will be tested as part of this trial.