Nationality: USA

Country of Residence: USA

Nominator: Lesley Jane Smith

Supporters: Ingo Baumann, P.J. Blount, Michelle L.D. Hanlon, Elsbeth Magilton, Larry Martinez, Milton “Skip” Smith

Professional path (including present position)
Ruth Pritchard-Kelly is an expert on satellite regulatory policy with over 30 years of experience. She is currently an advisor to Apple, and has advised governments and industry on regulatory, spectrum, and sustainable space policy. Pritchard-Kelly is also an adjunct professor at several universities. Before starting her own consultancy, she was the Vice President of Regulatory Affairs for OneWeb, and before that the Director of Regulatory Affairs for SES Networks. She has also worked at the law firm now known as Morgan Lewis; taught at the law school of the University of Baltimore; and worked at the consultaing firm Satellite Systems Engineering.

Education and degree
Pritchard-Kelly has a Master’s Degree in space and telecommunications policy from George Washington University; and a J.D. from the University of Maryland.

Main publications in English

  • “WRC-23 on the Horizon: Large Satellite Constellations, ITU Issues, and Industry Perspective,” JOURNAL OF AIR & SPACE LAW, Wolters Kluwer, Vol. 48, (2023).
  • “A Satellite Operator’s Practical Experiences with Licensing and Market Barriers for Global Satellite Constellations – the Case of OneWeb.” Routledge Handbook on Commercial Space Law, 2nd Edition (2023)
  • 30 Voices on 2030: The Future of Space, May 2020, p. 76-77, KPMG
  • “New Satellite Technologies Provide the Geographic Ubiquity Needed to Connect the Globe,” 2019 International Astronautical Congress
  • Note, A Comparison Between Spectrum Auctions in the U.S. and New Zealand, MARYLAND JOURNAL
    OF INTERNATIONAL LAW & TRADE, Summer 1996, Vol. 20, Number 1, at 155
  • The 1992 World Space Congress, SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS MAGAZINE, Nov. 1992, Vol. 16, Number 11, at 48

Membership and professional affiliation
Ms. Pritchard-Kelly is a member of the Advisory Committee for the Secure World Foundation; has served on the Boards of the US Telecommunications Training Institute, the Arthur C. Clarke Foundation, and the Commerce Department’s Spectrum Management Advisory Committee; is a member of the American Bar Assocation's Air & Space Law Forum; the Space & Satellite Professionals International; the Federal Communications Law Association.

Awards and other accomplishments
Pritchard-Kelly was celebrated as one of the 2023 "Women in Satellite" by Satellite Today magazine; she helped establish the SSPI's Hall of Fame exhibit at the National Electronics Museum; and is an active mentor in UNOOSA's "space4women" program, the SSPI's Women in Space Engagement (WISE) program; and the ITU's Network of Women (NOW).

Space law expertise
Pritchard-Kelly received one of the first graduates from what is now George Washington University's "Space Policy Institute." She has dedicated her entire career to the policies and regulations affecting communications satellites.

IISL Position applied for
Director

Specify your relationship with the IISL
Member since 2019; actively participate in annual meetings.

Specify the reason for applying for the postition and how you can serve IISL
I would love the opportunity to be more active in IISL, and direct the future of the group to a wider more international audience.

Name, Surname of Nominator
Lesley Jane Smith

Nominator's reasons for nominating the nominee
I hereby nominate Ruth Pritchard-Kelly as Director of the Institute’s Board and, for the following reasons, commend her to you highly.
Ruth is one of the few internationally recognised experts within our legal community of space experts fully versed in spectrum, its regulation, and related satellite regulatory policy; one of her many attributes is her extensive knowledge of how spectrum operates and is managed, and a full understanding of the satellite technologies involved. Not only does she bring with her direct experience of advising governments, as well as public and private companies on regulatory, spectrum, and sustainable space policy, she is visible on the public arena through her own contributions to formal stakeholder committee work contributing to these discussions (see below, also her vita); she is equally active in academic teaching at renowned specialist institutions on the subject matter, and has an impressive portfolio of publications.

Ruth has direct experience with the commercial satellite sector; she served as Vice President for Regulatory Affairs at OneWeb, enabling her to work with the regulatory systems of both the United States and the UK in the context of management and the deployment of large constellations.
As technology advances and demand for connectivity increases, Ruth’s field of expertise relates to a niche field in space and communications law without which core – essential - infrastructure for society’s daily operations cannot function; these technologies, in turn, foster society’s well-being, its capacity to communicate and its security: satellite broadband, the Internet of Things, the digital divide. Increasing demands for mobile telephony deployment and related frequency management are part and parcel of the growing call that society currently faces for different and secure types of satellite operations; Ruth’s expertise lies in her knowledge about frequency bands, and the pre-requisites to ensure satellite system functionality in support of the particular mission or application.

Ruth has been a member of IISL since 2019. As a Board member, her expertise is timely. Her background and experience in ITU, with its participatory and voting rules, its radio regulations (RR) and, in particular, a different architecture of operational rules to those at COPUOS, is valuable; in short, her contribution to the current and future challenges which the IISL is facing are in line with the greater calls for increased access to connectivity and space, and to its data as a source of information, equality and empowerment.

As a member of the Advisory Committee for the Secure World Foundation, Ruth contributes to overseeing the SWF’s activities which provide an important, independent platform for exchange and dialogue on critical issues relating to sustainable space activities. She has served – and continues to serve- on various Boards, namely the US Telecommunications Training Institute, the Arthur C. Clarke Foundation, and the Commerce Department’s Spectrum Management Advisory Committee.

Currently adjunct professor at several universities (Mississippi, Nebraska) teaching telecoms law, Ruth is also advisor to Apple, as it moves forward to enable a secure “satellite SOS” project, designed to ensureconnectivity, even in isolated areas or those without sufficient network, can be linked via satellite signal to the nearest emergency services.

Ruth’s presence in the Board will help it focus on the above developments and accompanying moves within the regulatory community. As the law develops, the work of the Institute must continue to ensure relevant reporting, analysis and comment.

With thirty years of experience in this domain, Ruth brings a particular expertise in a field that the Institute needs to follow and command with authority in greater detail.

Lesley Jane Smith
VP International Institute of Space Law

Supporters:

Ingo Baumann

P.J. Blount

Michelle L.D. Hanlon

Elsbeth Magilton

Larry Martinez

Milton “Skip” Smith