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 measures. 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, that is, connecting a phone 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. US companies are therefore not excluded, but they can count on one third of the band at most.

Henna Virkkunen, Vice-President of the 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 that European companies should consider the possibility of retaliation, which would be painful given the size of the US market. In his view, it is not possible to increase the competitiveness of European companies at the expense of American ones. 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 together with China in AI and quantum computing.

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

The response from Brussels and operators

The Commission replies 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 this band.

What this means for you in the UK

For now, this is an EU proposal and a diplomatic dispute, and the UK is not in 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 could affect the development of satellite connectivity in phones in Europe, including who will offer it on the continent, for example when travelling to Poland.