The United States ambassador to the European Union has warned that European companies could face retaliation in the American market if Brussels goes ahead with a plan to reserve part of Europe’s satellite-to-phone airwaves for European operators. Andrew Puzder made the comments in an interview with the Financial Times published on 18 October, relayed the same day by Tesla North and investingLive. The FT interview is paywalled and neither aggregator links to it, so every quote below is as those two outlets reported it.
Key facts
- European firms should be alert to the possibility of retaliation if the EU shuts US satellite operators out of part of its spectrum, Puzder said, per investingLive. Tesla North describes the warned-of retaliation as “devastating” and notes that no specifics have been given.
- At issue is the 2 GHz mobile-satellite band — the frequencies that let satellites connect straight to ordinary phones.
- The European Commission said in May that the band would be split into three 10 MHz blocks for 20 years: one for secure government communications including IRIS², the EU’s planned constellation; one for European startups; and a third open to European or non-European companies.
- Current licences, held since 2009 by the US operators Viasat and EchoStar, expire in 2027.
- SpaceX has objected strongly, warning the plan could degrade connectivity in Ukraine, where Starlink has carried civilian and military traffic since Russia’s full-scale invasion.
Why it matters
Starlink Mobile, the direct-to-cell side of SpaceX’s network, is being built around 2 GHz, Tesla North reports — so under the Commission’s three-way split, American firms would be competing for at most one block out of three. On the European side, Deutsche Telekom has said its planned satellite-to-mobile service with Starlink will run on Starlink’s mobile satellite spectrum, with a rollout targeted for 2028; Deutsche Telekom has also set out what it wants from SpaceX on coverage.
For investingLive, the warning introduces fresh transatlantic trade risk in a market that had treated EU digital regulation as a compliance cost rather than a trigger for US countermeasures: European exporters with heavy US revenue exposure are the obvious pressure point, while the EU operators who stand to gain reserved spectrum now face a more contested route to it.
What it could mean for users
Direct-to-cell is sold as a gap-filler — messaging first, then slow data, in places with no mast — rather than a replacement for a home satellite internet connection. If SpaceX ends up confined to a single 10 MHz block, or shut out altogether, the practical consequence for European consumers is less about whether the service arrives than how: most likely later, and bundled through a carrier partner such as Deutsche Telekom rather than sold directly by SpaceX. Capacity on these networks scales with the width of the licensed band, so a narrower European allocation also means fewer simultaneous users per satellite pass, which is the variable that ultimately sets retail pricing. Neither outlet reports a price or a European launch date for Starlink Mobile, and the commercial pressure is already being felt elsewhere: the direct-to-phone service is already being weighed against existing handset economics.
What the ambassador argued
Both outlets say Puzder accepted that Europe has a legitimate interest in protecting sensitive government information. His objection is to legislation designed to favour domestic firms and hold back American rivals: weakening US companies would not make European ones more competitive, he said, and undermining US competitiveness is not a legitimate goal for that kind of law.
US products in the sector are reliable and trusted, he argued, and Europe does not need what he called “synchronised mediocrity.” investingLive adds that he framed the consequences of retaliation as severe precisely because European companies depend so heavily on access to the large US market.
The band at the centre of it
The two reports describe the Commission’s plan slightly differently. Tesla North says most of the band would be reserved for European operators; investingLive describes it as setting aside a slice of the direct-to-smartphone spectrum, shrinking the frequencies available to American and Chinese providers. The Commission’s own defence, in investingLive’s account, is that the split encourages new entrants and a more diverse set of EU suppliers while remaining open to operators from outside the bloc.
Nothing is settled yet
The proposal still has to be negotiated by the European Parliament and EU governments, Tesla North stresses, and Washington has made similar threats before: FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said earlier this year the US would “mirror the regulatory approach that Europe wants to take” and could push European satellite operators out of the American market.
Our read is that the leverage here is lopsided, and that explains the shape of the threat. Brussels can allocate its own spectrum without American consent, so any US counter-move has to reach outside the satellite sector to bite — which is why the warning was aimed at European exporters in general rather than at any satellite operator in particular. That breadth makes it loud, and also harder to execute without hitting industries that have nothing to do with 2 GHz.
Background: the sovereignty push
investingLive places the spectrum proposal inside a wider European drive for technological sovereignty, as policymakers try to reduce reliance on US technology amid concern over the unpredictability of President Donald Trump and the risks of foreign control over critical infrastructure. The Commission has also put forward a Cloud and AI Development Act, which would set sovereignty conditions for providers of sensitive cloud services while helping European firms grow into alternatives to US groups. That debate has sharpened alongside questions about Europe’s reliance on American satellite capacity.
The signal from Washington, in investingLive’s reading, is that Europe’s quest for tech independence could come with a bill payable in the American market. The test it flags for investors is whether tech regulation gets linked to broader tariff policy — which would push the stakes well beyond satellites — while noting that nothing concrete has been announced and that, for the euro, a renewed tit-for-tat narrative is only a modest headwind at the margin.
Frequently Asked Questions
When would the EU’s new spectrum rules actually take effect?
No start date has been set. Tesla North notes that the incumbent licences, which run to 2027, can be extended by up to two years, so the present arrangement could survive into 2029 even if Brussels sticks to its plan. Neither report gives a date for a final vote or for the first new licences to be issued.
Did Puzder criticise anything else about EU tech policy?
Yes. investingLive reports that he also questioned the EU’s enforcement of the Digital Markets Act, asking whether multibillion-euro fines on American technology companies were about competition or about raising revenue. He argued the regulatory approach risked deterring US investment, and said Washington and Brussels should instead cooperate to stay ahead of China in artificial intelligence and quantum computing.
Where else has Starlink recently won 2 GHz access?
Brazil’s regulators approved full 2 GHz access for Starlink, which the company described as carrying “global S-band priority,” according to Tesla North. The same report says the US Federal Communications Commission cleared 15,000 next-generation Starlink Mobile satellites this month, so the constellation’s build-out is running well ahead of the European licensing question.
Does this dispute affect Starlink’s existing satellite internet service in Europe?
Neither outlet reports any effect on residential service. Starlink’s home satellite internet dishes use Ku- and Ka-band frequencies under separate authorisations, not the 2 GHz mobile-satellite band at issue here, which is reserved for links between satellites and unmodified handsets. The fight is over the future of Starlink Mobile, not over existing dish customers.
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