US threatens Europe with retaliation over plan to divide spectrum for satellite connectivity

The European Commission wants to reserve part of the radio spectrum that allows smartphones to connect directly to satellites for European entities. The United States sees this as a threat to its companies and does not rule out retaliatory action. This is according to reports based on a statement by the US ambassador to the EU, Andrew Puzder, to the Financial Times, described by Antyweb among others.

What the dispute is about

The dispute concerns the 2 GHz band, used for "direct-to-device" services, meaning a phone connecting to a satellite without ground-based masts. It is currently used by the US companies Viasat and EchoStar, whose licences expire in May 2027.

Under the Commission's proposal, one third of the band would go to government and military uses. It would be operated by an EU operator linked to the European IRIS satellite constellation. The remainder would be divided equally between EU and non-EU companies. American companies are therefore not excluded, but can expect at most one third of the band.

Henna Virkkunen, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission, justified the plan by the wish to strengthen Europe's security and make use of new technological possibilities. Antyweb notes that Brussels wants to protect itself against scenarios such as the restriction of Starlink's operation in Ukraine.

The US position

Puzder said European companies should consider the possibility of retaliation, which would be painful given the size of the American market. In his view, European companies' competitiveness cannot be increased at the expense of American companies' competitiveness. The ambassador also criticised the draft EU Cloud and AI Development Act, which imposes sovereignty requirements on providers of sensitive cloud services. He also asked whether enforcement of the Digital Markets Act (DMA) serves competition or the filling of the EU budget.

According to Puzder, Brussels and Washington should compete with China together in the fields of AI and quantum computing.

SpaceX warns that allocating frequencies to IRIS could interfere with Starlink's operation in Ukraine. The US regulator, the FCC, announced retaliation for favouring European operators as early as March.

The response of Brussels and the operators

The Commission responds that its proposal encourages new EU providers to enter the market, while remaining open to operators from outside the Union. According to Antyweb, Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Telefónica and Vodafone are reportedly discussing a joint bid for the band.

What this means for Poles in the UK

For now, this is an EU proposal and a diplomatic dispute, and the UK is not a member of the EU. The sources contain no information about direct consequences for phone users in the UK or about changes to operators' offers. However, the matter may affect the development of satellite connectivity in phones in Europe, including who will offer it on the continent, for example when travelling to Poland.