BRUSSELS — Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Telefónica and Vodafone said on Monday they will explore bidding together for European satellite spectrum, and they have not said whose satellites would use it. The letter of intent says only that a satellite partner has yet to be chosen.
It arrives a day after Washington’s ambassador to the EU, Andrew Puzder, warned that European businesses “should be wary” of US retaliation over an EU satellite spectrum rule, which he called “devastating” given the size of the American market, according to Anadolu Agency. TEH covered the EU satellite spectrum rule on Sunday.
The four operators’ own records point in different directions. Deutsche Telekom agreed in March to bring Starlink satellite-to-mobile service to several of its European markets from 2028. Vodafone co-owns Satellite Connect Europe, a joint venture with AST SpaceMobile that gives European mobile operators access to AST’s satellite network, according to Vodafone’s February announcement. The new letter, the operators said, would not replace existing satellite partnerships. It names none.
Euronews reported in May that the European Commission was preparing a decision favouring European satellite operators on the 2 GHz band, the only one harmonised across the EU and allocated since 2009 to Viasat and EchoStar. Direct-to-device service, it said, would let SpaceX and Amazon compete directly with European mobile operators, which reportedly prefer European satellite operators because they do not see them as a direct threat. It added that the Commission’s digital chief, Henna Virkkunen, is seen as closer to the telecom operators. The operators’ release names no band, so TEH cannot confirm this is the spectrum they mean.
The two named partnerships are where the questions start. Telekom’s March release says its Starlink service will run only on Starlink’s mobile satellite spectrum, and SpaceX has already disclosed FCC-approved wireless spectrum in the United States. Vodafone’s release on the new letter lists open, non-discriminatory access for every mobile operator as a goal, and says the four would build the ground network and monitoring functions in Europe but would not invest in a constellation themselves.
Who builds and flies the satellites is the one question the letter leaves open, and it weighs most on the two members already tied to different suppliers. The release does not say whether Telekom would set Starlink aside, whether Vodafone would restructure its venture with AST, or whether a third supplier is intended.
