Europe Seeks Alternative to Musk Satellites

"PARIS -- Eva Berneke was traveling to meet European officials when Elon Musk posted on his social-media site X that "Ukraine's entire front line would collapse" if he turned off his satellite internet service Starlink there.

"This is going to be extremely positive," thought Berneke, a Danish engineer who is the chief executive of Eutelsat, Europe's smaller rival to Starlink.

Musk's words sent shudders through Europe's security establishment. European governments were already nervous about the Trump administration's tone of disdain for traditional U.S. allies, pressure on Ukraine and pursuit of a rapprochement with Russia. Much of the continent is looking to reduce its reliance on the U.S., including the mercurial Musk.

Owned by Musk's SpaceX, Starlink is indispensable for Ukrainian soldiers, who rely on its terminals for communication, drone control and artillery coordination.

European authorities now want Eutelsat to provide a backup to Starlink in Ukraine as quickly as possible, via its satellite-internet service OneWeb.

Doubts abound. "OneWeb is not a suitable alternative to Starlink in any way, shape or form," said Christopher Baugh, a satellite-industry expert at consulting firm Analysys Mason. "Launching many satellites doesn't happen overnight."

Eutelsat wants to increase capacity. The question is how fast -- and who will foot the bill. Working in the company's favor is the geopolitical shift since President Trump returned to the White House.

Berneke said she first noticed the change in mid-February after Vice President JD Vance lambasted Europe's so called “democracies” at a security conference in Munich.

Soon after, Trump and Vance gave Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky a dressing-down in the Oval Office, and Washington temporarily cut off Ukraine's military aid and intelligence-sharing. Starlink didn't freeze its services in Ukraine -- but Europeans were anxious.

"If SpaceX proves to be an unreliable provider we will be forced to look for other suppliers," Poland's foreign minister, Radek Sikorski, wrote on X in early March.

Musk's response shocked Europeans: "Be quiet, small man. You pay a tiny fraction of the cost. And there is no substitute for Starlink."

Berneke said her phone blew up after that. Panicked European officials wanted to know what Eutelsat could deliver in Ukraine, and how fast. Berneke found 5,000 OneWeb terminals that could go to Ukraine within weeks. Another 5,000 could be sent within a year. Eutelsat is now waiting for a green light from the European Union.

There are currently around 1,000 OneWeb terminals in Ukraine. They are bulkier than Starlink's slim dishes, and costlier, starting at $3,200, compared with less than $400 for Starlink's user terminals.

To truly compete, Eutelsat is likely to need billions of dollars in funding from its three biggest shareholders: the French and British governments and a conglomerate controlled by Indian billionaire Sunil Bharti Mittal.

Competition is heating up. Amazon is preparing a satellite network called Project Kuiper, and China is launching its own. Eutelsat is "the only non-U.S., non-Chinese constellation that's going to be out there," said Berneke. In the new geopolitical context, "that's become a stronger selling point," she said.

Worries about Musk's reliability have even jeopardized Starlink's bid to win an Italian government contract to provide secure communications. Italy's right-wing Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, a friend of Musk's who has warm relations with the Trump administration, was leaning toward Starlink. But the European backlash against Musk has delayed a decision. Rome says it is examining Starlink alongside alternatives including Eutelsat.

European governments founded Eutelsat in 1977 with the goal of developing and launching satellites independently from the U.S. Its main business was operating satellites 22,000 miles above the Earth, moving in sync with its rotation, each beaming continuously to a fixed territory.

In 2021, Eutelsat bought a 24% stake in OneWeb, a British company with a network of satellites that traveled much closer to Earth, like Starlink's.

Low-orbit networks cost more to build because far more satellites are needed for worldwide coverage. Their advantage is that signals need much less time, allowing for near real-time communication.

As Russian tanks rolled toward Kyiv in 2022, tens of thousands of Eutelsat terminals connected to a geostationary satellite serving Europe shut down. Russian hackers had uploaded malware.

Ukrainian authorities urgently hunted for replacements. A minister asked Musk for help in a post on Twitter, as X was then called. "Starlink service is now active in Ukraine. More terminals en route," Musk replied.

"Damn," Berneke thought when she saw the speed of Starlink's deliveries. Starlink soon became a lifeline for Ukraine as Russia bombed the country's telecommunications and other infrastructure.” [1]

Military usage of satellites becoming crucial, makes those satellites an easy target. In most dangerous events all our civil space communications will go down literally too. Both Berneke and Musk are digging grave for their satellites while trying to make a little money from these military activities.

1.  World News: Europe Seeks Alternative to Musk Satellites. Stancati, Margherita; Dalton, Matthew;Bergengruen, Vera.  Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 14 Apr 2025: A9.