Starlink is not at all pleased with Brussels’ new policy aimed at defending Europe’s sovereignty in direct communications between satellites and smartphones. SpaceX, the parent company of the US constellation, issued a scathing four-page memo at the end of June, challenging the European Commission’s intention to favour European constellations in this strategic area. This rapidly developing technology, known as ‘direct-to-device’, enables direct communication from space in areas not covered by traditional mobile operators.

On 27 May, the Commission proposed reserving one-third of the frequencies earmarked for this purpose for sovereign European services, notably for secure communications by the armed forces. Another third of this radio spectrum, in the 2 gigahertz (GHz) band, will be reserved for European groups to provide commercial services.

As a result: foreign satellite constellations, such as Starlink or Amazon Leo – owned by the US e-commerce giant – will have to make do with the remaining third, which is itself divided into two frequency blocks. This marks a turning point in the Commission’s policy, as licences have, since 2009, been held by US operators Viasat and EchoStar.

This is enough to provoke the ire of Starlink, which had hoped to secure a large share of these frequencies to strengthen its leadership in direct-to-device services. Today, the US constellation largely dominates this segment, claiming 7.4 million users across several European countries, including the United Kingdom, Switzerland and Ukraine. In its white paper, SpaceX criticises the European Commission’s proposal on technical grounds, arguing that it contains “several significant shortcomings” that could “compromise” the “operational reliability” of constellations in Europe, starting with its own.

“This proposal significantly increases the risk that Europeans will be deprived of critical satellite services already in operation in Europe,” states SpaceX. It highlights, in particular, the risk of severe disruption in Ukraine, where its constellation has become essential in the context of the war with Russia: its service has enabled the transmission of “12 million text messages” since the end of 2025, the White Paper emphasises.

A hardly veiled threat

According to a source close to SpaceX, the constellation was aiming for at least 15 megahertz (MHz) of spectrum, including at least one 10 MHz block, in order to be able to offer a ‘genuine internet service’. However, the new regulations only provide for the allocation of two 5 MHz blocks to foreign groups. Under these circumstances, the source insists, it will be impossible to offer anything more than text messages, a bit of phone calls or WhatsApp, as is the case today.

The other problem, the White Paper states, stems from the risk of ‘interference’ that the new rules could cause, which might disrupt communications in certain border areas. This could happen in particular on the border between Poland and Ukraine, the source warns, if two different operators on either side were to use the same frequencies.

To encourage Brussels to reconsider its position, Starlink has the backing of the United States. On 27 May, Brendan Carr, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission – the US telecoms regulator – issued a thinly veiled threat against the “many European satellite operators doing business in America”, whilst defending a principle of “reciprocity” with regard to Europe.

But in Brussels, these attacks have fallen on deaf ears. Intended for the European Commission and MEPs, this memo quickly made the rounds amongst all those involved in the planned tender. And to be honest, it was deemed, at best, to be in ‘bad faith’ by more than one expert on the subject; at worst, somewhat rudimentary.

The Commission remains firm in its stance. “It was not possible to leave 100 per cent of this signal in the hands of an American operator,” insists a spokesperson. Against a backdrop of geopolitical and security tensions, Brussels has no intention of becoming permanently dependent on Starlink and other foreign solutions in this sensitive sector, whether for civilian, government or military communications.

‘Business model under threat’

A source at the Commission points out that ‘unlike the United States, which has barred all European companies from access to its satellite communications market on the 2 GHz band, [Europe] is keeping [its] market open’. Jean-Baptiste Thépaut, a satellite communications specialist at the research firm Novaspace, also points out that “there are no European players in the direct-to-device sector”: “I’m not sure the US market would roll out the red carpet for the European satellite operator Eutelsat if it decided, tomorrow, to launch such a service in the United States.”

Regarding the signal reserved for government services and the armed forces, “it was impossible to open it up”, the Commission states. It adds: “Similarly, as for the other third reserved for European stakeholders, this is a condition for our expansion in these areas. ’ Accusations of weakening signal quality or subliminal threats to cut off access to certain services in the event of a crisis or in relation to Ukraine, however, are refuted or dismissed.

For Pierre Lionnet, an economist at Eurospace, the most representative trade association of the European space industry, “this offensive by Starlink is not really a surprise”. Its owner, Elon Musk, always acts in the same way: “He is constantly seeking a monopoly in his markets. As soon as competition arises, he pivots and looks for another sector to break into. Today, Starlink enjoys a virtual monopoly in mobile satellite services, particularly in Europe. It can therefore set its prices as it sees fit. What Europe is proposing undermines its business model.”

Ultimately, the researcher adds, Starlink aims to offer a completely autonomous mobile phone service, free from telecom operators, from whom it is currently obliged to lease spectrum. However, this is not particularly well received by these operators, who have also organised themselves to lobby the Commission and put forward their point of view. When asked about this, the source close to SpaceX maintains that the constellation “has no intention” of cutting ties with telecom operators in Europe. “There is no market for that,” she insists, given the very high penetration and quality of traditional mobile networks.

Starlink’s push is part of a much broader standoff over digitization between Washington and Brussels. In addition to the allocation of spectrum reserved for mobile satellite communications, the US is pressing for amendments to the Cloud Act and the Digital Markets Act, as well as other regulations affecting American tech giants.>