SpaceX Mad About European Satellite Spectrum Plan

SpaceX hit out at a European Commission plan for distributing satellite spectrum across the bloc. The US company warned that current proposals could directly impact connectivity with mobile devices.

A statement from Elon Musk’s rocket company aims an EC plan to offer only a third of its 2GHz frequency band to companies outside the EU, keeping the remaining amount for those based in the bloc. The proposal effectively excludes foreign companies, like SpaceX, from offering satellite services to governments and will directly impact the expansion of its Starlink connectivity play.

SpaceX has established a presence in Europe, striking partnerships with European operators including Deutsche Telekom and Orange to offer Starlink D2D services to customers. However, SpaceX said that the EC’s plans will split spectrum into virtually unusable subdivided parts. It added that intentions are inconsistent with international regulations and do not adhere to Europe’s international obligations and economic reality.

Another bone of contention is an EC aim to reserve airwaves for the Europe IRIS2 constellation, with SpaceX arguing this could risk poorer connectivity in Ukraine where Starlink has been used during the country’s war with Russia. “The proposal creates a significant likelihood that Europeans will be left without direct-to-device satellite services or that new European operations will create global interference problems, including to emergency services like those in Ukraine,” read the statement.