Europe's leading mobile operators are considering a unified push into satellite-to-phone services, a move that would directly confront the dominance of Elon Musk's SpaceX Starlink across the continent.
According to sources familiar with the matter, Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Vodafone, and Telefonica are in early-stage discussions to form a consortium. The alliance would aim to place a joint bid for satellite spectrum that the European Union is planning to reserve for local operators.
This initiative comes as Brussels intensifies its drive to bolster Europe's sovereign satellite capabilities, with plans to restrict access for international companies in the upcoming 2 GHz spectrum auction.
If the coalition materializes, it would put the European carriers head-to-head with SpaceX's Starlink, which currently dominates the satellite-to-phone sector by beaming text, data, and voice services directly to ground devices from orbit. Despite its leading position, SpaceX cannot independently offer these services within the EU without the bloc's spectrum authorization.
US markets were closed Monday for Labor Day, but SpaceX's shares rose 4.56% last week, trading near a two-month high.
A third of spectrum reserved exclusively for European companies
The EU is formulating new rules for satellite access to the 2 GHz band, designating one-third of the spectrum specifically for local firms. With existing licenses set to expire in 2027, any satellite operator seeking these frequencies would need to be majority-owned by European entities under the current proposal.
The objective is to cultivate a homegrown satellite service capability within Europe. Although terrestrial wireless infrastructure already serves the vast majority of the continent's populated areas, EU officials are seeking to establish a viable local network in response to SpaceX's growing consumer-direct ambitions.
SpaceX has openly opposed the proposal to bar international companies from the spectrum. At present, Starlink operates broadband services across most of Europe and holds agreements with several local partners, including Deutsche Telekom, for direct-to-device services.
Notably, UK's Vodafone and American firm AST SpaceMobile have already formed a 50-50 joint venture, with the latter also offering satellite-to-phone connectivity. Should the EU's proposal take effect, Vodafone would need to restructure this venture's ownership to comply with the majority-European requirement to bid for the spectrum.
Remaining two-thirds: half for IRIS², half open to international bidders
The EU's plans also allocate another third of the spectrum to IRIS², the bloc's sovereign communication service. This satellite constellation, spearheaded by a consortium including SES SA, Eutelsat Communications, and Hispasat, with the latter providing limited satellite-to-phone capabilities, will not become operational until 2029 and will focus initially on broadband services.
The final third of the spectrum will be open for international companies to participate in the auction process.
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