Starlink not favoured for Europe?
June 8, 2026
By Chris Forrester
The European Commission’s (EC) spokesperson Thomas Regnier, speaking to Euronews, has said that the Commission recognises the importance of satellite-based connectivity for its citizens, and that satellites will play a key role in the region’s technological sovereignty, security and defence. But an upcoming auction of S-band frequencies over Europe might see problems for non-European players.
The current users of the capacity in the 2 GHz band are Viasat of California (via its UK-based licence -holder Inmarsat which it now owns) and EchoStar of Denver, Colorado.
The frequencies will be auctioned shortly but the current users are entitled to stay in control of the spectrum until 2027. The new EU-issued licences will then run from 2027.
Vodafone has partnered with AST SpaceMobile in a new European enterprise, domiciled in Luxembourg and with a promised operational HQ in Germany, to bid for and use the frequencies for a Europe-wide service.
However, the rumours – wholly unconfirmed – say that the EC favours EU-based players and thus would close out Starlink and Amazon’s Leo broadband satellite systems as potential bidders for access to the spectrum.
But a decision in favour of EU players would risk alienating the FCC and its Commissioner Brendan Carr who is on record as saying that such a decision could lead to reciprocal problems for non-US operators in the United States.
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