How Do You Write the Rules for Innovation? with Mike Thompson, UK Space & Satellite Personality of the Year Nominee

In this episode of The People Behind the Progress, we explore a question at the heart of every technological leap: how do you write the rules for innovation?

Few people can answer that with more insight than Mike Thompson, who has spent more than thirty-five years shaping the policies and regulatory frameworks that allow new technologies to take flight.

From the UK Radiocommunications Agency and Inmarsat to co-founding Access Partnership, Mike has helped define how spectrum is shared, how satellite networks coexist, and how global agreements are built. His work has influenced everything from Ultra Wide Band adoption to the protection of critical C-band infrastructure, from fair-play procedures at the ITU to new spectrum allocations that improved aviation and maritime safety.

In conversation with Tamara Bond-Williams, Executive Director of SSPI, Mike reflects on the diplomacy, technical understanding, and strategic patience needed to develop rules that don’t restrict progress, but enable it. He shares what he has learned about aligning governments and industries, anticipating future technologies, and building trust into the very architecture of global communications.

This episode celebrates Mike’s selection as a finalist for the UK Space & Satellite Personality of the Year Award, honoring a career spent ensuring that innovation has the stable, thoughtful foundations it needs to thrive.