European players are joining forces to curb the dominance of the American giant in the satellite communications industry. Politico reported on how "Europe plans to push Starlink out," writes UNN.
Details
"Taking the stage at the International Space Summit in Paris, French President Emmanuel Macron called on leading European players to create a new 'alliance' to strengthen collective satellite capabilities. The real target of the 'let's unite' message? Elon Musk's Starlink," the publication says.
Macron's speech last month, the publication notes, "was a public endorsement of behind-the-scenes efforts that would see the bloc's major telecommunications companies make an aggressive push for direct-to-device connectivity—mobile signals transmitted directly from satellites to phones."
On Tuesday, communications ministers from EU national governments gathered in Ireland to discuss a legislative proposal that could make it easier for leading European operators to access satellites.
According to the publication, the initiative "envisages Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Vodafone and Telefónica joining forces to secure critical and desirable frequencies that will become available next year, as the European Commission considers a new allocation procedure that would reserve frequencies for European players." The plan, reported by Bloomberg before Macron's September 10 speech, was confirmed by two sources familiar with the negotiations.
"We are looking at this issue," said Mikael Trabbia, a senior executive at French telecommunications group Orange, in an interview, declining to comment further on the plans. "As a leading, innovative telecommunications group, we want to be able to offer this service to our customers. We do not want to have one dominant player."
Vodafone declined to comment, while Deutsche Telekom and Telefónica did not respond to requests for comment.
The future of space, the publication writes, is attracting attention in Europe as geopolitical conflicts increase its strategic importance, while security requirements and technological advances create business opportunities.
Musk has made it clear that Starlink seeks to deepen its dominance in low Earth orbit, where satellites fly close to Earth to provide faster connectivity. The company hopes to obtain these valuable frequencies in order to offer mobile services without having to cooperate with local telecommunications providers.
SpaceX, Starlink's parent company, did not respond to a request for comment, it was reported.
The question of control
As noted, amid the EU's need to reallocate the 2 GHz satellite communications band in 2027, the proposal under discussion envisages a licensing process that would favor European operators.
A group of members of the European Parliament submitted amendments to the European Commission's May proposal aimed at raising the barrier to non-European players' access to strategic radio frequencies.
"Starlink is not sitting idle. Musk's company has stepped up its lobbying in Brussels over the past two years, holding more meetings with the European Commission and lawmakers ahead of policy initiatives that could delay its expansion," the publication notes.
Earlier this year, the American company warned that the EU plan would leave Europeans without reliable direct-to-device connectivity services. "Starlink Broadband and Starlink Mobile [SpaceX subsidiaries focused on consumers] have done more to achieve the European Commission's connectivity objectives than any other satellite operator," the company's four-page submission obtained by the publication says.
It also warned that the plan could create "global interference problems, particularly for emergency services, such as those in Ukraine."
"Starlink may not be trying to make countries dependent on it, but it is trying to make itself indispensable," said Célestine Rabouam, a researcher at the French Institute of Geopolitics (GEODE). "Right now, they are the only ones that can deploy so quickly and adapt so easily."
What was said at the EU meeting
"We must also have our own technological sovereignty when it comes to satellites," EU Perspectives quotes Henna Virkkunen, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission, as saying at a meeting of ministers responsible for telecommunications on Tuesday, October 13.
She wants the Digital Networks Act to simplify the rules and strengthen the European telecommunications market.
Against the backdrop of Europe's desire for reliable satellite communications and faster broadband access, governments, as reported, put forward different priorities: Germany sought reliable satellite services and competition, while the Czech Republic emphasized opportunities for European companies. Finland warned against giving Brussels greater control.
Thomas Jarzombek, Parliamentary State Secretary at Germany's Federal Ministry for Digital Affairs, advocated satellite services that Europe could rely on even under difficult circumstances. He also called for competition between at least two providers, arguing that this would foster innovation.
Asked about allocating frequencies to Starlink, Thomas Jarzombek "pointed to Ukraine as evidence of the dependence that such technology can create," the publication writes. Access to frequencies should be accompanied by obligations to provide a reliable service, particularly at critical moments, he argued. Satellite connections will complement terrestrial networks, not replace them. "They need a partner on the ground," he said.
Opening the roundtable, Ireland's Minister for Communications Patrick O'Donovan emphasized protection against extreme weather, cyberattacks and hybrid threats, including the protection of undersea cables. "Greater security, diversity and redundancy can help reduce strategic vulnerabilities," he said. However, the talks in Limerick were interrupted when chair Patrick O'Donovan was taken to hospital by ambulance.
Ireland, which holds the presidency of the EU Council, wants the discussions to produce a first compromise on the legislation by December, when the EU Telecommunications Council will meet in Brussels, the publication writes.