Lodestar publishes two proposals for community-built mobile networks

The company is calling for controlled regional access to low-band spectrum while assessing whether independent community operators could share difficult core-network functions without losing their local identity.

CNF is a proposed federation model, not an operating network.

Published: 12 September 2026
Location: Coventry, UK
Organisation: Lodestar Networks Ltd

Coventry, 12 September 2026: Lodestar Networks Ltd has published two early-stage proposals intended to make community-built mobile networks more practical. The first calls for Ofcom to assess controlled LTE Band 71 tests around Coventry and, in the longer term, consider regional and local 600 MHz licences. The second begins a technical feasibility study into a Community Network Federation, or CNF, for independently identified local networks.

Neither proposal is a live service. Lodestar has not been authorised to transmit in LTE Band 71, no candidate frequencies have been assigned, and the UK has not adopted Lodestar's proposed regional licensing framework. CNF has no operating member networks or roaming agreements, and Lodestar has not yet established that its present core-network components can support the full design.

The proposals are published separately: the 600 MHz spectrum proposal concerns local and regional low-band access, while the Community Network Federation page concerns shared infrastructure for eligible independent networks.

A regional route to low-band spectrum

The 600 MHz proposal asks Ofcom to examine a small number of defined sites around Coventry for a tightly bounded LTE Band 71 assessment. Under suitable conditions, lower-frequency mobile spectrum could help a local network reach further and improve reception inside some buildings. Actual performance would still depend on terrain, building materials, interference, equipment and the authorised installation.

The UK Government's 2026 study of possible future uses of UHF spectrum identifies potential rural, indoor and deployment-cost benefits from additional low-band mobile spectrum. The same report makes clear that 470 to 694 MHz is currently used primarily for digital terrestrial television and is also important to programme-making and special-events users. Lodestar's proposal therefore calls for measured coexistence work and protection for existing users, not an assumption that a locally quiet television channel is unused.

For any longer-term mobile framework, Lodestar is asking for defined regional and local licences rather than a national award. It also wants rules that prevent connected companies, acquisitions, leases or aggregated holdings from recreating equivalent nationwide control. Independent regional networks should be able to seek permission directly from Ofcom under transparent rules, proportionate fees and terms long enough to support responsible investment.

These are policy requests from Lodestar. They are not restrictions or licence products that Ofcom has already adopted.

Assessing a Community Network Federation

CNF addresses a different barrier. A small local operator may be able to install and run radio sites but still face the cost and complexity of building complete subscriber, mobility, policy and interconnection systems alone.

The concept would let eligible independent members retain or seek their own Ofcom-allocated mobile network code and PLMN identity where justified. They could use shared, geographically resilient control-plane services while placing user-plane gateway functions close to their own networks for local breakout. If the engineering, regulatory and commercial work succeeds, customers could later move between participating networks under agreed roaming arrangements.

3GPP's LTE network-sharing specification provides a standards basis for cells broadcasting multiple PLMN identities and for certain shared core-network functions. That does not prove that Lodestar's current software or selected radio hardware implements the required features. The feasibility study will examine multi-tenant subscriber data, Diameter routing, radio support for multiple PLMNs, member-local breakout, policy separation, charging records, identifiers, security and operational responsibility.

Mobile network codes are a finite national resource and their allocation is not automatic. A shared-identity model may also need to be assessed if a separate code for every member would not be justified or scalable.

“Community networks should not have to choose between spectrum they cannot rely on and core infrastructure they cannot afford to duplicate. These proposals ask two practical questions: can low-band spectrum be made available locally while protecting existing users, and can independent networks share the difficult control-plane work while keeping meaningful local control?”

Blake Williams, founder and director of Lodestar Networks Ltd

Work still to be done

The 600 MHz work would require current assignment checks, interference assessment, Ofcom authorisation, agreed operating limits and measurements before any transmission. Ofcom's published innovation and trial route is temporary, subject to availability and coordination, and does not guarantee a later operational licence.

The federation requires a component-by-component engineering review and confirmation from radio vendors. It would also need identifier allocations, spectrum permissions, security controls, data-protection arrangements, policy and charging separation, member agreements and a compliant approach to emergency communications before any public service could be considered.

Lodestar will publish what the studies establish and will distinguish measured results from future aims.

Notes to editors

Media enquiries

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About the 600 MHz proposal

LTE Band 71 is a paired-frequency arrangement standardised at 617 to 652 MHz downlink and 663 to 698 MHz uplink. These technical ranges do not create permission to operate in the UK. Lodestar's proposal concerns a controlled assessment around Coventry followed, only if supported by evidence and policy decisions, by a regional and local licensing framework. It is not an approved trial, frequency assignment or coverage announcement.

About CNF

Community Network Federation is Lodestar's working name for an early-stage shared-core model. In the proposed architecture, eligible members could retain or seek a local PLMN identity, use shared control-plane functions and operate member-local user-plane functions. It is not a live network, product or roaming service.

About Lodestar Networks

Founded in Coventry by Blake Williams, Lodestar Networks Ltd is a UK telecommunications company building local mobile coverage around community-hosted small cells and developing standalone SIP voice services. Lodestar Networks Ltd is registered in England and Wales under company number 17431367. Registered office: 66 Paul Street, London EC2A 4NA.

Technical and regulatory sources

External sources explain the technical and regulatory background. They do not endorse Lodestar's proposals or confirm that spectrum is available at any location.