Elon Musk's Starlink and Amazon's low-Earth orbit satellite business may acquire part of Europe's mobile satellite spectrum next year, two people with direct knowledge of the matter said on Tuesday. But they said two-thirds of the satellite spectrum, which allows mobile devices and vehicles to communicate seamlessly even in remote areas, will be reserved for European companies.
Licenses held by U.S. companies Viasat and EchoStar are set to expire in May 2027, at a time when the European Commission is considering how to allocate future spectrum resources and the EU is working to reduce its reliance on U.S. technology.
People familiar with the matter said that in response to Starlink, the EU's IRIS2 multi-orbit satellite array (composed of 290 satellites) will be among the European companies to obtain part of the spectrum.
British and Norwegian companies could also bid for licenses, people familiar with the matter said.
One of the sources said details of the proposal, due to be released on Wednesday, could still change at a committee meeting that day.
One commissioner's insistence that all spectrum be reserved exclusively for European companies puts him at odds with EU Science and Technology Commissioner Henna Verkunen, who does not want to exclude any companies, the person said. The person said Verkunen was likely to win the argument.
European Commission spokesman Thomas Rainier said when asked about the matter on Tuesday that satellite connectivity across the EU "equates to resilience, security and capabilities" given the current geopolitical context.
"As IRIS2 highlights, satellite connectivity is a critical component of our technological sovereignty, security and defence," he said.