--- title: Europe’s top carriers in talks to take on Starlink,... description: Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Vodafone and Telefónica are reportedly in early talks to form a consortium bidding for a reserved third of the EU's 2 GHz mobile... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/europe-s-top-carriers-in-talks-to-take-on-starlink-bloomberg-reports-wz9xlp78y twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: Europe’s top carriers in talks to take on Starlink, Bloomberg reports | daily.dev og:description: Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Vodafone and Telefónica are reportedly in early talks to form a consortium bidding for a reserved third of the EU's 2 GHz mobile... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/europe-s-top-carriers-in-talks-to-take-on-starlink-bloomberg-reports-wz9xlp78y og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/WZ9xLP78Y.png og:image:alt: Europe’s top carriers in talks to take on Starlink, Bloomberg reports og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Europe’s top carriers in talks to take on Starlink, Bloomberg reports **[The Next Web](https://daily.dev/sources/tnw)** · 5 min read · 1 upvotes · 1 comments ## Summary Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Vodafone and Telefónica are reportedly in early talks to form a consortium bidding for a reserved third of the EU's 2 GHz mobile satellite spectrum, positioning themselves to compete with or gatekeep Starlink's direct-to-device service in Europe. The European Commission proposed splitting the band three ways: one third for a majority European-controlled operator, one third for sovereign IRIS² services, and one third open to anyone including SpaceX and Amazon. Current licences held by Viasat and EchoStar expire May 2027. Complications include Deutsche Telekom's existing Starlink partnership and Vodafone's joint venture with AST SpaceMobile, which would need restructuring to qualify as European-controlled. IRIS² won't offer direct-to-mobile service until 2029, meaning a European consortium could hold spectrum rights years before having its own satellites to use them. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### What happens to the 2 GHz satellite-to-mobile spectrum licences held by Viasat and EchoStar in Europe? Those licences expire in May 2027. The European Commission proposed on 27 May to run a single EU-level selection for the next licences and split the 30 MHz band into three parts: one third for a company under majority European control, one third for sovereign services via the IRIS² constellation, and one third open to any bidder, including SpaceX and Amazon. _Track how EU spectrum rules could reshape satellite-to-phone options by following daily.dev's telecom and space coverage._ ### Why would Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Vodafone and Telefónica team up to bid for satellite spectrum instead of competing separately? Bidding jointly gives the four incumbents, who together serve most mobile customers in the EU's largest markets, an effective lock on the European-reserved third of the 2 GHz band before an auction even opens. Whoever holds that spectrum decides whether Starlink operates as a supplier or a competitor in those markets, which is leverage none of the four could secure alone. _Developers weighing satellite connectivity partners can follow this consortium story as it develops on daily.dev._ ### Can Vodafone's joint venture with AST SpaceMobile qualify as a European-controlled operator under the EU's proposed spectrum rules? Not as currently structured. Vodafone owns half of a 50/50 joint venture with AST SpaceMobile, a Texas company, and under the Commission's proposal that ownership split would not count as European-controlled, meaning Vodafone would need to restructure the venture to bid for the reserved spectrum third. _Anyone tracking how sovereignty rules reshape satellite partnerships can follow updates on daily.dev._ ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [Four European carriers to explore a joint bid for satellite spectrum](https://daily.dev/posts/four-european-carriers-to-explore-a-joint-bid-for-satellite-spectrum-3aiib7vgh) · The Next Web · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Brussels plans to ringfence two-thirds of EU mobile-satellite spectrum for European firms](https://daily.dev/posts/brussels-plans-to-ringfence-two-thirds-of-eu-mobile-satellite-spectrum-for-european-firms-9av4mcpnm) · The Next Web · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Starlink wants to be your next mobile operator](https://daily.dev/posts/starlink-wants-to-be-your-next-mobile-operator-lrwzemhn6) · TechCentral · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [SpaceX’s Starlink secures more spectrum and airlines as it passes 8 million customers](https://daily.dev/posts/spacex-s-starlink-secures-more-spectrum-and-airlines-as-it-passes-8-million-customers-k1jhv66gg) · TechCrunch · 0 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#networking](https://daily.dev/tags/networking), [#regulation](https://daily.dev/tags/regulation), [#spacex](https://daily.dev/tags/spacex) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/europe-s-top-carriers-in-talks-to-take-on-starlink-bloomberg-reports-wz9xlp78y) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"Europe’s top carriers in talks to take on Starlink, Bloomberg reports","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/europe-s-top-carriers-in-talks-to-take-on-starlink-bloomberg-reports-wz9xlp78y","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/europe-s-top-carriers-in-talks-to-take-on-starlink-bloomberg-reports-wz9xlp78y"},"datePublished":"2026-09-07T22:58:43.254Z","dateModified":"2026-10-15T02:22:38.898Z","description":"Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Vodafone and Telefónica are reportedly in early talks to form a consortium bidding for a reserved third of the EU's 2 GHz mobile...","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/228877bd6cf1e2309ce224def335fd04?_a=AQAEuop","thumbnailUrl":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/228877bd6cf1e2309ce224def335fd04?_a=AQAEuop","isAccessibleForFree":true,"articleSection":"The Next Web","inLanguage":"en","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180}},"author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"The Next Web","logo":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/t_logo,f_auto/v1/logos/tnw","url":"https://daily.dev/sources/tnw"},"commentCount":1,"discussionUrl":"https://daily.dev/posts/europe-s-top-carriers-in-talks-to-take-on-starlink-bloomberg-reports-wz9xlp78y","interactionStatistic":[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":1},{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"CommentAction"},"userInteractionCount":1}],"keywords":"networking,regulation,spacex","timeRequired":"PT5M"} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://daily.dev"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Next Web","item":"https://daily.dev/sources/tnw"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Europe’s top carriers in talks to take on Starlink, Bloomberg reports"}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/europe-s-top-carriers-in-talks-to-take-on-starlink-bloomberg-reports-wz9xlp78y#faq","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"What happens to the 2 GHz satellite-to-mobile spectrum licences held by Viasat and EchoStar in Europe?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Those licences expire in May 2027. The European Commission proposed on 27 May to run a single EU-level selection for the next licences and split the 30 MHz band into three parts: one third for a company under majority European control, one third for sovereign services via the IRIS² constellation, and one third open to any bidder, including SpaceX and Amazon. Track how EU spectrum rules could reshape satellite-to-phone options by following daily.dev's telecom and space coverage."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"Why would Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Vodafone and Telefónica team up to bid for satellite spectrum instead of competing separately?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Bidding jointly gives the four incumbents, who together serve most mobile customers in the EU's largest markets, an effective lock on the European-reserved third of the 2 GHz band before an auction even opens. Whoever holds that spectrum decides whether Starlink operates as a supplier or a competitor in those markets, which is leverage none of the four could secure alone. Developers weighing satellite connectivity partners can follow this consortium story as it develops on daily.dev."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"Can Vodafone's joint venture with AST SpaceMobile qualify as a European-controlled operator under the EU's proposed spectrum rules?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Not as currently structured. Vodafone owns half of a 50/50 joint venture with AST SpaceMobile, a Texas company, and under the Commission's proposal that ownership split would not count as European-controlled, meaning Vodafone would need to restructure the venture to bid for the reserved spectrum third. Anyone tracking how sovereignty rules reshape satellite partnerships can follow updates on daily.dev."}}]} ```