Five of the 12 studied Americas countries have commercial direct-to-device (D2D) satellite services using terrestrial IMT spectrum, while Brazil has authorised trials under a regulatory sandbox. Regulatory approaches differ on how satellite operators can access spectrum already licensed to mobile network operators.

Canada, Chile, Costa Rica and the USA have adopted specific regulatory frameworks for D2D communications, with different approaches to licensing and cooperation between mobile and satellite operators.

Brazil has allocated IMT spectrum below 3 GHz to the mobile satellite service on a secondary basis, extended its D2D regulatory sandbox to 2029 and authorised Telefónica to trial D2D services.

In the Americas, a range of terrestrial IMT bands are being considered or regulated for D2D, including 600 MHz, 700 MHz, 850 MHz, AWS, 1900 MHz and 2.6 GHz.

Cullen International’s Benchmark compares the regulatory conditions for D2D satellite services using terrestrial IMT spectrum across 12 countries in the Americas, including whether existing mobile licences allow satellite use, proposed or adopted licensing frameworks, spectrum access arrangements, trials and commercial services.

Scope
Region: Americas
Countries covered: Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, United States
Policy area: Satellite communications, mobile spectrum regulation and non-terrestrial networks
Last updated: September 2026

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