The ITU's seven-year rule: bringing a satellite network into use (RR No. 11.44)
How long a satellite network filing has to be brought into use under the ITU Radio Regulations, when the clock starts, and what changes for large non-geostationary systems.
Published 13 October 2026 · Figures as of 13 October 2026, from the public record
Why the ITU has a deadline at all
Satellites share spectrum and orbital positions internationally, and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) keeps the register. A country's administration files a satellite network with the ITU's Radiocommunication Bureau, and the filing gives that network a place in the queue for its frequencies. The Radio Regulations stop a filing from holding that place indefinitely without a satellite behind it. That is what No. 11.44 does.
Seven years from the date of receipt
The rule, in the wording of the most recent Final Acts (WRC-23, published 2024), says the notified date of bringing into use of a frequency assignment to a space station "shall be not later than seven years following the date of receipt by the Bureau of the relevant complete information".
Which information starts the clock depends on the kind of network:
| Network | The clock starts at receipt of |
|---|---|
| Not subject to coordination under Section II of Article 9 | The information under No. 9.1 or No. 9.2 |
| Subject to coordination under Section II of Article 9 | The information under No. 9.1A (WRC-19 wording) or No. 9.30 (WRC-23 wording) |
So the deadline is not counted from the launch, the licence or the operator's own announcement. It is counted from a Bureau receipt date, which is why it has to be read from the ITU's records rather than inferred.
What "brought into use" means
Bringing into use is defined in the Regulations themselves (Nos. 11.44B to 11.44E). Broadly, it means a space station with the capability to use the assignments has been deployed and maintained for the required period, or deployed in the case of certain non-geostationary systems. The definition has changed between conferences, which is one reason the edition matters.
What happens if the deadline is missed
Any frequency assignment not brought into use within the seven years "shall be cancelled by the Bureau after having informed the administration at least three months before the expiry of this period". The filing loses its place, and the spectrum and orbital position become available to others.
The edition in force matters
No. 11.44 has been amended at successive World Radiocommunication Conferences. The text that applies to a network depends on when its information was received, so a filing from 2008 and one from 2022 can be measured against different wording. Orbital Docket keeps a dated window for each edition it can verify against the ITU's published Final Acts, cites the edition and page for each date it computes, and labels as unverified the one early window for which no primary text is publicly reachable.
Large non-geostationary systems: Resolution 35
For non-geostationary systems in certain bands and services, bringing into use is followed by a second set of milestones under Resolution 35, adopted at WRC-19. Counted from the end of the seven-year period:
| After | Deployed | If the milestone is missed |
|---|---|---|
| Two years | 10 percent of the satellites | The notified total is reduced to at most ten times the number deployed |
| Five years | 50 percent | Reduced to at most twice the number deployed |
| Seven years | All of them | Reduced to the number deployed |
Missing one of these does not cancel the assignment. It shrinks the number of satellites the filing covers. The Resolution applies only to frequency assignments in the bands and services listed in its table.
The ITU names countries, not companies
The ITU publishes the notifying administration, the national authority that filed the network, and names an operating agency only on some records. So an ITU deadline belongs to a filing and an administration, not necessarily to a company you can name. Orbital Docket shows what the record names and does not guess the rest.
How this connects to FCC licences
A US operator often holds both an FCC licence, with its own milestones under 47 CFR 25.164 (see our guide to FCC milestones), and ITU filings made on its behalf by the United States. The two clocks run independently and can fall due years apart.
As of 13 October 2026, Orbital Docket tracks 420 ITU bring-into-use deadlines falling due in the next 12 months. A filing past its seven years is reported as past the limit and unconfirmed. It is called lapsed only where a second source has confirmed it, as for 0 filings so far.
This guide summarises the Radio Regulations as published in the ITU Final Acts linked above. It is regulatory research that shows its working, not legal advice.