The United States ambassador to the European Union, Andrew Puzder, has warned that European companies could face “devastating” retaliation in the American market if Brussels presses ahead with plans to reserve satellite-to-smartphone spectrum for European operators — a move that would limit access for SpaceX, the operator of the Starlink satellite internet network. Puzder made the comments in an interview with the Financial Times, which was not retrieved for this report; the quotations below come from three secondary accounts of it. Tesla North relayed the interview on 18 October; The Epoch Times dates his remarks to 19 October and Yeni Şafak says he spoke on Sunday.
Key facts
- The row is over the 2 GHz mobile-satellite band — the spectrum that lets satellites connect directly to ordinary phones, per Tesla North.
- International Business Times UK says the European Commission adopted the proposal on 27 May 2026, creating a new EU-level selection process for mobile satellite services in the harmonised 2 GHz band. Measures of this kind are published by the Commission through Shaping Europe’s Digital Future.
- The plan would split the band into three 10 MHz blocks for 20 years, Tesla North writes: one for secure government communications including IRIS², one for European startups, and one open to European or non-European companies.
- Both The Epoch Times and IBTimes UK stress the proposal is not a blanket ban on SpaceX or on all American operators.
- IBTimes UK reports Puzder announced no specific tariffs, sanctions or other punitive measures.
Why it matters
Starlink Mobile, the direct-to-cell side of Starlink, is being built around 2 GHz, Tesla North reports. The same outlet says the US Federal Communications Commission cleared 15,000 next-generation Starlink Mobile satellites this month — an authorisation that would sit in the FCC’s public licensing record, which was not consulted here — and that regulators in Brazil approved full 2 GHz access, which Starlink described as coming with “global S-band priority”.
Deutsche Telekom, the German telecoms group, has said its planned satellite-to-mobile service with Starlink will run on Starlink’s mobile satellite spectrum, with a rollout targeted for 2028, the outlet adds. Of the three blocks in that account, only one is described as open to non-European companies; neither Tesla North nor IBTimes UK states which blocks SpaceX would be eligible to bid for, and no source cited here puts a figure on what the split would cost the company.
For existing customers the fight is prospective. None of the reporting reviewed here describes any change to the price of Starlink’s dish-based broadband plans or to the countries where the service is sold; the 2 GHz band concerns future satellite-to-phone capacity rather than today’s residential and roaming products.
What the ambassador said
Puzder told the Financial Times that European businesses should be wary of possible retaliation, pointing to the size of the US market. “They should be wary that it could happen and it would be very devastating for those companies,” he said, as reported by IBTimes UK.
He argued that making American companies less competitive would not make European companies more competitive, and said that if the purpose of the legislation is to weaken US competitiveness, that is not a legitimate goal, according to The Epoch Times and Yeni Şafak. He accepted that Europe has a right to protect sensitive government information, Tesla North writes, but said it should not use legislation to favour domestic firms.
The Digital Markets Act and China
Puzder also questioned the motive behind the EU’s enforcement of the Digital Markets Act, the bloc’s competition rules for large digital platforms, asking whether the aim is competition in the digital marketplace or revenue from American companies, The Epoch Times reports. That outlet notes French European Affairs Minister Benjamin Haddad told Franceinfo on 29 September that proceeds from fines imposed on Google — €4.6 billion — should automatically lower member states’ contributions to the EU budget.
The ambassador urged Europe to drop what he called a regulatory mindset of stopping things, saying the US and Europe are in a race with China on artificial intelligence and quantum computing, and that winning would be easier working with Europe than fighting it, according to The Epoch Times and Yeni Şafak.
Europe’s operators move
On 19 October, four European telecoms companies — Deutsche Telekom, Orange of France, Spain’s Telefónica and the UK’s Vodafone — signed a letter of intent to explore a joint bid for future European mobile satellite services spectrum, according to The Epoch Times and IBTimes UK. IBTimes UK says their stated ambition is to strengthen European satellite connectivity, support direct-to-device services extending mobile coverage to underserved areas, and keep key ground infrastructure and coordination functions in Europe.
IBTimes UK reports Brussels says its plan would encourage competition, diversify suppliers and improve Europe’s resilience while remaining open to non-EU operators. The secure-government block is tied to IRIS², Europe’s own planned constellation.
Why Ukraine raises the stakes
Ukraine is where the political argument lands hardest — that reading is this site’s analysis, not a claim made by any of the outlets cited. What they do report is this: SpaceX has criticised the proposed changes, warning they could undermine connectivity in Ukraine, where Starlink has provided civilian and military communications since Russia’s full-scale invasion, Yeni Şafak says; IBTimes UK adds that the company has raised concerns about potential consequences rather than describing a disruption already caused by the proposal. The Epoch Times reports that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an 18 October interview that a three-day Starlink restriction which disrupted Ukrainian combat missions was a “message” from the US government, delivered with no advance notice to Ukraine’s forces — a claim that places service problems in Ukraine inside the same dispute about who controls the connection.
Sourcing and gaps
The three-block split, the 15,000-satellite clearance and the Brazilian approval rest on a single secondary outlet, Tesla North, and were not matched by a second independent report at the time of writing. The primary records linked above — the Commission’s digital policy service and the FCC’s licensing database — were not retrieved, so those figures should be read as claims attributed to Tesla North rather than verified counts.
What happens next
IBTimes UK says the EU proposal remains under consideration and the four operators are weighing their options. Tesla North notes it still has to be negotiated by the European Parliament and EU governments, a process running against the 2027 expiry of the incumbent 2 GHz authorisations. The Epoch Times says the European Commission did not respond to its request for comment by publication time.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who holds the 2 GHz satellite rights in Europe today?
According to Tesla North, the current licences have been held since 2009 by Viasat and EchoStar, two US satellite operators. International Business Times UK puts the expiry of those authorisations in May 2027.
Could the existing 2 GHz licences be extended beyond 2027?
Yes. Tesla North reports that the current licences could be extended by up to two years.
Has Washington threatened to mirror the EU’s approach before?
Tesla North reports that earlier this year FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said the United States would “mirror the regulatory approach that Europe wants to take” and could push European satellite operators out of the American market.
Will the four European telecoms build their own satellite network?
No. International Business Times UK reports that no satellite partner has been chosen, that the operators do not intend to build a constellation directly through the initiative, and that it would not replace their existing satellite partnerships.
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