The UK must invest strategically in space-based optical wireless communications or risk ceding leadership to international competitors, including the US, Germany, France and China, according to a new industry roadmap.
Optical wireless communications offer a secure alternative to traditional radio frequency systems, using light to transmit data at significantly higher rates. The techUK report outlines a strategy to capture a share of this Free Space Optical market, which is valued at $550 million in 2025 and projected to grow at 30 per cent annually to reach $1.2 billion by 2030.
To capitalise on this momentum, the roadmap recommends establishing an Optical Communications Task Force within the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. This body would function as a bridge between the UK Space Agency, government teams and industry to coordinate funding strategies and accelerate mission deployment.
Fibre in the sky
The report calls for a national programme to drive technology readiness levels up, targeting market segments where the UK can lead globally, such as dual-use terrestrial-space technologies.
Several projects highlight existing UK innovation in the sector. The HydRON programme, involving CGI, aims to demonstrate the world’s first end-to-end multi-orbit optical transport network capable of terabit-per-second throughput. Meanwhile, Northumbria University’s ALIGN mission plans to demonstrate inter-satellite laser links capable of transfer rates exceeding one gigabit per second using the FOCUS payload.
The roadmap emphasises the role of optical ground stations in strengthening critical national infrastructure. Archangel Lightworks is focusing on deploying this infrastructure to provide resilience for fibre-optic cable networks, which currently rely on vulnerable subsea cables.
The overarching goal is to achieve first-generation commercial deployment of high-value ground stations and satellite systems by 2030. However, the report warns that without collaborative efforts to establish interoperable standards, the UK risks exclusion from closed sovereign ecosystems led by other global players.
