Thought Leadership
Fitness trackers, emergency calls, military communications: the European Commission wants to slow down US giants such as Starlink and Amazon with satellite internet made in Europe.
The European Commission plans to exclude foreign providers of satellite mobile services from parts of the 2 gigahertz frequency band in the future. Among other things, the band is used for critical communications. According to a proposal from the Brussels authority, two thirds of the licenses for these satellite services are to be reserved for providers from the European Union in order to reduce dependence on foreign suppliers, including those from the US.
So far, the US companies Viasat and Echostar hold EU wide licenses. The future providers are to be selected again centrally for the entire European Union in 2027, but under new rules.
What the Authority Wants
The EU Commission proposes reserving one third of the bandwidth for state use in the future, for example for critical communications, security and the military. According to the proposal, this segment must be provided by an EU operator.
Two thirds of the 2 gigahertz band are to be available for commercial use, for instance for fitness trackers or emergency communications through the direct connection of smartphones and satellites (Direct to Device, or D2D). Half of this segment is to be reserved for new EU providers; licenses for the other half could be awarded to both EU operators and operators based outside the EU.
Another Goal: A Network During Crises
EU Commissioner Hadja Lahbib spoke in Brussels of a very important strategic decision that reduces dependence on US services and ensures connectivity in crisis situations as well as in places where no terrestrial networks are available. The 2 gigahertz frequency can transmit over greater distances than higher frequencies, which in turn are able to carry more data.
Worldwide, the satellite internet service Starlink, operated by Elon Musk’s space company SpaceX, has become the market leader for satellite mobile services. The US corporation Amazon is building its own network with Amazon Leo.
Coordination With the US?
Asked whether the EU Commission had consulted with the US beforehand, Henna Virkkunen, the Commission Vice President responsible for the matter, spoke of close global cooperation on frequency policy. She also pointed out that the US had recently awarded a satellite mobile services license to a US provider despite interest from a European provider.
The US government repeatedly accuses the EU of protecting its internal market too heavily and of deliberately targeting US digital firms. The European Union has consistently rejected this.
The proposal will only be implemented if the European Parliament and the member states also approve it.
dpa
