EU rules: dispute over satellite telephony: Why the US threatens Europe

No radio holes, nowhere. This has always been the promise of satellite telephony. Now the dispute between the United States and the European Union over the future allocation of frequencies within the crucial frequency band is intensifying. Andrew Puzder, the US ambassador to the EU, told the Financial Times that European companies are threatened with “devastating retaliation” from Washington if the Union maintains a plan to reserve some of the frequencies in the two-gigahertz range for domestic companies. In May, the European Commission proposed introducing a new procurement procedure coordinated by it. In the future, the frequencies should therefore be divided into three equally large batches. One third would be reserved for state use, two thirds for commercial use. However, half of the latter should be available exclusively to European suppliers, while the rest would also be open to non-European companies in free competition. The current scheme, which dates back to 2008, does not provide for a detailed division between different groups of suppliers and their origin. However, the current permits are limited until May next year, so there is now time pressure. EU wants more bandwidth for its own satellites The Commission justified its proposal, inter alia, by the need to create sufficient capacity to transmit information critical and military relevant. Therefore, a substantial part of the state reserved frequencies will be used for the Iris2 satellite constellation that is still to be built. The program, which was launched after the Russian attack on Ukraine in 2022, provides for the operation of approximately 350 satellites on two orbits. After Iris2 first came to a standstill, also due to disputes among the potential suppliers, the spokesman of a participating manufacturer of the F.A.Z. says: “This has now taken off properly.” The consortium, in which three German companies are also involved with Airbus, OHB and Deutsche Telekom, has now agreed on a clear separation of tasks between operation and production of individual components. Satellite telephony without expensive special technology For the dispute with the United States, however, the civil use of the frequency band is the main reason. Because it enables satellite telephony with the antennas of today's smartphones without expensive additional technology. Accordingly, SpaceX had invested in the development of its own mobile network. Amazon, on the other hand, has applied to the American authorities for permission for the 5,000-satellite network Leo to offer telephony in remote areas. On Monday it was announced that Deutsche Telekom is working with competitors Orange, Telefónica and Vodafone to offer frequencies in the two-megahertz band. It is planned, so the short message, to build common infrastructure on the ground and its control, but not to participate directly in a satellite constellation. This should be provided by a partner to be selected.