In brief: In another sign of Europe's continuing push away from reliance on US tech, four of the continent's biggest mobile operators are considering joining forces to create a Starlink competitor. The proposed service would connect phones directly to satellites, helping fill coverage gaps while giving European carriers an alternative to Elon Musk's network.
Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Telefónica, and Vodafone have signed a letter of intent to explore a joint bid for Mobile Satellite Services spectrum in Europe. The agreement, announced on Monday, is an early step toward offering direct-to-device connectivity through their existing mobile networks.
The aim is to reach areas where conventional mobile infrastructure falls short. Starlink already offers similar coverage through partnerships with carriers including T-Mobile in the US and O2 in the UK.
There is, however, a fairly significant piece of the plan missing: the satellites. The four operators don't intend to invest directly in a constellation themselves. Instead, they would build ground infrastructure and establish coordination and monitoring operations in Europe, with a satellite partner providing the orbiting hardware. That partner has yet to be selected.
The companies say other mobile operators would also be able to access the service on equal terms. They want the project to improve coverage in underserved areas, protect critical communications, and make public networks more resilient. Existing satellite partnerships would remain in place.
The European Commission has proposed reserving some of the 2 GHz satellite spectrum for European operators.
Earlier this month, SpaceX secured FCC approval for 15,000 Starlink Mobile satellites. A separate waiver allows it to offer satellite wireless services without leasing spectrum from a terrestrial carrier, opening a way to competing directly with established operators. The planned mobile upgrade also goes beyond emergency messages and basic data, with support for native calls, streaming, browsing, and more demanding apps. It means Starlink could become both a useful partner and a serious rival for traditional carriers.
Europe's effort to reduce its dependence on American technology have been gaining pace in recent times. France plans to move government systems from Windows to Linux, alongside a broader shift toward European software and services. Control over essential infrastructure is becoming a recurring theme.
There was also a German state's plans to replace Windows and Microsoft Office with Linux and LibreOffice for 30,000 government employees. More recently, Switzerland launched an $11 million pilot to move 3,000 federal workstations to openDesk, an open-source alternative to Microsoft's productivity tools.
The Netherlands is trying to break from Microsoft with its DAWO project, an independent IT environment built around NixOS that would offer public institutions alternatives to US desktop software, office applications, and cloud services.