Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Telefónica and Vodafone have signed a letter of intent to look at a joint bid for European Mobile Satellite Services spectrum, the four carriers disclosed on Monday, according to finance.biggo.com. The consortium has not named the partner that would supply the spacecraft, and Poland’s Creotech says the continent lacks the rockets to put them in orbit.
Key facts
- The carriers would build and run the ground infrastructure, network coordination and monitoring on European soil, while an as-yet unnamed satellite partner supplies the spacecraft, finance.biggo.com reported.
- AST SpaceMobile, the Texas-based satellite-to-phone developer, has signed its own letter of intent with the four operators to explore a joint bid, per the same report.
- Spectrum rights granted in 2009 to US operators Viasat and EchoStar come due in May 2027, and the European Commission proposed EU-wide licensing rules on 27 May 2026.
- Europe carried out 8 of the world’s 324 orbital launches last year; the United States managed 193, Creotech told Reuters, as reported by The News International.
- SpaceX’s network currently counts more than 11,000 satellites in orbit, finance.biggo.com said. Starlink alone accounts for more than 60% of active satellites, according to European Space Agency data cited by The News International.
Why it matters
The arrangement would let any mobile network operator in Europe offer direct-to-device service on open, non-discriminatory terms, the carriers said, according to finance.biggo.com. It is framed as support for the European Commission’s push on sovereignty, security and resilience in critical connectivity, keeping key space assets under European governance, while widening consumer choice and extending coverage to underserved areas.
For consumers, that would arrive as an add-on to an existing mobile plan rather than as a Starlink-style satellite internet subscription with its own dish and monthly price. Nothing in Monday’s disclosure put a figure on the cost or a date on the launch.
It also means Europe’s four largest carriers would add satellite coverage without the capital cost of a constellation — but stay dependent on a non-European partner for spacecraft and launches, the report said.
The launch gap
For Creotech, the Polish satellite manufacturer, the bottleneck is not satellite building but access to orbit. Chief executive Grzegorz Brona told Reuters in Sopot on Friday that “Europe can produce thousands of satellites without any launchers,” as reported by The News International. He described launchers as having become a political weapon in the hands of the Trump administration, and said building enough rockets will take almost a decade even with new European programmes including the German launcher.
Creotech plans a 2029 factory able to build 40 satellites a year of mixed types, or up to 100 of a single model, against about 10 at its current plant. It will open subsidiaries in France and Germany over the coming weeks and aims to manufacture 500-kg satellites by 2032. Brona said next year’s revenue is secure and he expects further contracts within six months.
The company avoids American technology, because a single US part lets Washington block a sale, The News International reported. Even so, SpaceX put all four Creotech-built satellites for Poland’s MikroGlob military programme into space.
What the spectrum fight is about
Under the European Commission’s 27 May proposal, a 2 x 30 MHz block would be split into six paired 5 MHz segments: one third for EU-controlled governmental communications tied to the IRIS² constellation, one third reserved for EU commercial services, and one third open to both EU and non-EU qualifying operators, with a possible two-year extension for incumbents. Announcing it, Commission executive vice president Henna Virkkunen said widely available satellite connectivity is essential to the resilience of EU networks. The allocation has not been finalised.
It has become a transatlantic flashpoint: Washington’s ambassador to the EU warned of retaliation over the 2 GHz plan last week, saying European companies would face devastating consequences unless Brussels revises an approach he argued discriminates against American firms including Starlink.
SpaceX has criticised the approach too, cautioning it could degrade connectivity in Ukraine, where its service has been a backbone for civilian and military communications since the war began, per finance.biggo.com.
Background: a thin European field
Eutelsat and the money gap
Eutelsat, the French operator seen as the leading Starlink challenger, has built a sizeable constellation but trails Starlink by a wide margin, finance.biggo.com said.
- Eutelsat shares jumped 23% on Wednesday and ended the week 28% higher, The News International reported, two days after Ukraine said SpaceX had curbed its use of Starshield, the military version of Starlink — a move that returned attention to Ukraine’s reliance on US-run Starlink.
- The European Space Agency found private space investment in Europe fell 8% to €1.4 billion (about $1.6 billion) in 2025, even as global investment jumped 60%, according to finance.biggo.com.
What the market makes of it
Market sources told finance.biggo.com the carriers’ plan has drawn private encouragement from EU officials working to cut Europe’s reliance on non-EU suppliers of critical digital infrastructure. Goldman Sachs analyst Andrew Lee said the move again signals that European operators see satellite as a complement to their ground networks while regulators want dedicated spectrum for European companies.
Ookla measured Starlink at 97.1% of global satellite Speedtest samples in the third quarter of 2025 — a satellite broadband figure rather than a direct-to-device market share, the report noted, but an indication of the lead the consortium is bidding against.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the letter of intent cancel the carriers’ existing satellite deals?
No. The four operators said the letter of intent does not replace their existing satellite partnerships, according to finance.biggo.com, which also notes that no licence has been awarded in connection with the project.
How fast is satellite-to-phone service today?
AST SpaceMobile has demonstrated downloads of up to 98.9 Mbps, finance.biggo.com reported. For now the technology is about holding a connection rather than speed: US tests showed roughly 90% of text messages getting through even from moving vehicles, next-generation satellites are expected to approach 200 Mbps, and the company’s radios can tune across about 1,150 MHz of partners’ low- and mid-band spectrum.
How big is the direct-to-device market expected to get?
Gartner projects the low-earth-orbit direct-to-device market will reach $20.2 billion by 2030, according to finance.biggo.com. More than 100 companies are aiming to enter, and research published by Ookla in August 2026 put investment in such systems at more than $40 billion over the prior year.
Are US carriers doing anything similar?
Yes — AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile launched a joint venture this month, finance.biggo.com reported. The carriers said it would combine spectrum in rural areas and dead zones to add capacity and help satellite providers reach more customers through a unified platform.
Follow Starlink News on Google. Make us a preferred source to see more of our reporting in Google search results.
