On September 9, 2025, the UK Communications Authority (Ofcom) conducted a public consultation. Ofcom will move forward with plans to make the UK the first country in Europe to allow smartphones to connect to satellites using mobile frequency bands. Ofcom has decided to authorize these services by making changes to existing licenses of mobile network operators (MNOs), in addition to creating a new exemption regulation that will legalize the use of standard smartphones by ordinary users to connect to satellites in mobile bands.

Click this link to view the original public consultation, which is open for comments until October 10, 2025.

On 13 February 2025, the United Kingdom's Communications Authority (Ofcom) opened a public consultation on the licensing of Wi-Fi and mobile services in the 6 GHz band (5925-7125 MHz). Ofcom proposes to introduce standard power (4W) Wi-Fi devices in the 5925-6425MHz band with AFC support. For 6425-7125MHz, Ofcom has proposed two phases, the first phase deploys Wi-Fi services with a power limit of 250mW, and Ofcom hopes to carry out the first phase as soon as possible; The second phase adds mobile services to the reserved Wi-Fi service.

Click this link to view the original public consultation and the comment period is until 8 May 2025.

On 1 August 2024, the United Kingdom Communications Agency (Ofcom) launched a public consultation on expanding spectrum access for fixed links in the 32 GHz band. The consultation will be open for comment until September 13, 2024.

Click on this link to view the original Ofcom public consultation.

On 18 April 2024, the UK Department of Commerce and Trade issued Circular 0100/24 amending the list of standards for the General Product Safety Regulations 2005 (S.I. 2005/1803). It is worth noting that the electrical safety standard required in the list of standards is EN IEC 62368-1:2020:A11:2020, which is higher than the harmonized standard of the CE LVD directive, EN IEC 62368-1: 2014/AC:2015, and also higher than its successor version, EN 62368-1 2014/A11:2017, which should be noted when choosing the standard.

Click this link to view the original announcement.

On 15 April 2024, the UK published draft legislation to continue the use of CE marking under the Product Safety and Metrology (Amendment) Regulations beyond 30 December 2024. The legislation, which will result in the UK continuing to accept CE marking indefinitely, is expected to come into force on 1 October 2024.

Click on this link to view the original text of the draft regulations.

On 1 August, the UK Department for Business and Trade (DBT) announced an indefinite extension of the use of CE marking by businesses, while retaining the UKCA marking recognition method.

The UK Department of Commerce and Trade intends to extend the CE marking of most goods on the UK market indefinitely beyond December 2024, and this update applies to 18 regulations under the jurisdiction of the Department of Commerce and Trade (DBT), covering the following areas:

• Toys
• pyrotechnics
• recreational boats and personal boats
• improvised pressure vessels
• electromagnetic compatibility
• non-automatic weighing instruments
• measuring instruments
• measuring containers, bottles
• elevators
• equipment for potentially explosive atmospheres (ATEX),
• radio equipment
• Pressure Equipment
• Personal Protective Equipment
• Gas Appliances
• Machinery
• Outdoor Use Equipment
• Aerosols,
• Low Voltage Electrical Equipment

On January 24, 2024, the UK Department for Business and Trade (DBT) announced that new legislation would be introduced to allow electronic labels. Some of the regulations affected by this announcement include:

• Electromagnetic Compatibility Regulation 2016/1091
• Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 2016/1101
• Pressure Equipment (Safety) Regulations 2016/1105
• Radio Equipment Regulations 2017/1206
• Simple Pressure Vessels (Safety) Regulations 2016/1092
• Toys (Safety) Regulations 2011/1881
• Restriction of the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations 2012 ("RoHS Regulations").

Click this link to view the original DBT press release and the full list of affected regulations.

On 22 January 2024, the United Kingdom's Communications Authority (Ofcom) published a guide with advice on how Internet of Things (IoT) and third-party equipment vendors can respond to network change. Vodafone, Three, and EE are expected to shut down their 3G networks by the end of 2024, and VMO2 is expected to shut down in 2025. There are no specific plans for mobile network operators in the UK to announce a shutdown of the 2G network after the 3G shutdown, but this will be done by 2033 at the latest, and possibly as early as 2028. All 2G and 3G devices will need to be upgraded to at least 4G at that time.

Click this link is the original Ofcom guide.