Abstract:
The CEO of British Telecom (BT) said that after Musk's satellite Internet service Starlink recently caused controversy due to service interruptions, which affected the Ukrainian military operations, BT will suspend the launch of the cooperation project between the two parties until "the relevant disputes subside." BT CEO Allison Kirkby said the service is now "ready to go", but is cautious about the public opinion Starlink may currently receive given the events in Ukraine a few weeks ago.
Last month, Ukraine experienced an abnormal signal interruption of Musk's Starlink system without warning, causing interference in frontline communications and affecting the military operations of the Ukrainian army as Russia escalated its offensive.
The service outage comes at a time of strained relations between U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The Ukrainian Armed Forces rely heavily on Starlink to provide battlefield communications services. Since then, Ukraine’s access to Starlink has been fully restored.
When accepted, Kirkby said: "We will only proactively launch this service when we believe that the controversy surrounding Elon Musk and Starlink's Ukraine incident has subsided."
Last month, Musk said on social platforms that Starshield, the version of Starlink developed specifically for the U.S. Pentagon, "is owned and controlled by the U.S. government. Any restrictions on speed or scope of use are determined by the U.S. military and ultimately by the President of the United States." The U.S. government has denied ordering the restrictions.
When BT announced its partnership with Starlink in November last year, the FTSE 100 company said it expected to launch related services in the "second half of 2026".
Under the cooperation agreement, BT will use Starlink satellites to provide network connection services to customers in areas not yet covered by its fiber optic broadband network Openreach. Currently, Openreach's fiber network covers approximately 25 million homes. Kirkby previously called the partnership "a giant leap forward" in connectivity for rural areas.
On Monday night, Kirkby said in a statement: "Providing the best products for customers means working with the best partners." She also said that BT will launch satellite broadband services in cooperation with Starlink "in the next few months."
Despite recent controversies, Kirkby said Starlink is "way ahead" of its competitors. The American company, which is part of Musk's SpaceX business empire, is also "very excited" about the cooperation between the two parties.
The person in charge of BT said that all Starlink hopes to do is "cooperate" with British telecom operators and has "no intention" to launch competing mobile communication services in the UK. SpaceX announced in August this year that it planned to directly challenge US telecom operators by launching its own commercial mobile communication services.
SpaceX’s expanding business ambitions have aroused vigilance in Europe. In May this year, the European Commission proposed to reserve part of the spectrum resources that allow smartphones to directly connect to satellites for use by European companies.
Last month, a consortium of European telecom operators announced that they were exploring the launch of their own satellite mobile communications services.
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