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The move comes as the European Union grows increasingly wary of its reliance on Elon Musk’s Starlink
Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Telefónica and Vodafone have announced the signing of a letter of intent to explore a potential joint bid for the future allocation of spectrum for Mobile Satellite Services (MSS) in Europe.
The move would see the group build key ground network infrastructure required to support a satellite network. The satellites themselves, however, would be owned and operated by an as-yet-unselected partner.
When combined, the operators would be able to offer customers open and non-discriminatory access to offer Direct-to-Device (D2D) services, as well as enhancing European network resiliency.
The decision relates to spectrum in the 2 GHz band, frequencies ideal for the delivery of D2D services. This band is currently occupied by Viasat and EchoStar, but their licences expire in May 2027.
In May, European policy makers proposed dividing the band into three, with one third reserved for governmental use, another for commercial EU operators entering the market, and one for EU and non-EU satellite operators. This, the European Commission said, would “strengthen the EU’s competitiveness and critical communications capabilities”.
“Satellite connectivity is a key piece of our technological sovereignty, our security, and our defence. technological sovereignty, our security, and our defence,” said the Commission in a statement.
While the proposal received support in Europe, it was lambasted in the US, with representatives threatening retaliation for what they claim would be unfair discrimination against US companies like Elon Musk’s Starlink.
The news comes at a time when Europe is growing increasingly wary of handing control of critical infrastructure to US companies that may be compelled to follow the whims of President Donald Trump.
Last week, Ukraine reported that SpaceX had introduced restrictions affecting military satellite connectivity without advance warning, impacting both battlefield communications and early warning of incoming Russian attack.
Sources speaking to Reuters subsequently indicated that the order to reduce Starlink service to Ukraine came from the White House. President Trump denies these claims.
The incident caused a major diplomatic rift between Washington and Kyiv, with Germany – which pays for Ukraine’s Starlink service – also notably angered.
Ukraine has been using Starlink-supported drone and missile strikes to hit oil infrastructure deep inside Russia, a move which has contributed to the rise of global energy prices.
President Trump – whose approval rating has fallen to a record low ahead of the Midterms, largely due to the surge in household energy costs because of the war in Iran – has decried Ukraine’s targeted attacks as ‘a disgrace’.
It is unclear whether the Starlink and Starshield services have now been fully restored in Ukraine; reports from October 16 suggested they had largely improved but denied a return to previous service quality.
Against the background of this furore, it should come as little surprise that Europe’s biggest telcos are looking for alternatives to Starlink. In fact, Europe has long aspired to create its own satellite communications system in the form of IRIS² (Infrastructure for Resilience, Interconnectivity and Security by Satellite), a LEO platform designed to support defence and government users across the bloc.
IRIS²’s delivery, however, has been slow. The constellations first satellites are currently targeted for launch in 2029, with full operation via 348 satellites expected in 2032.
The proposed mobile satellite partnership could therefore offer Europe a more immediate route to sovereign D2D connectivity while IRIS² remains years from full deployment, reducing reliance on US-controlled satellite infrastructure.
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