The European Commission has proposed to reserve two-thirds of licences for satellite internet services to European Union operators in a bid to slash dependence from US tech companies and to boost European providers.
"More than ever high-capacity, widely available satellite connectivity is essential to strengthen the resilience of the EU’s communication networks," said EU Commission Vice President Henna Virkkunen on Wednesday.
Current EU licences for the use of the harmonized 2 GHz frequency band are set to expire in May 2027, prompting the commission to propose restrictions on who should be allowed to operate the networks in the future.
Since the current rules were introduced in 2008, the global market for satellite internet has changed drastically, with US companies Starlink and Amazon among the market leaders.
Under the commission plans, one-third of the spectrum are to be dedicated to government use, including for security and military purposes, and provided by an EU operator.
The remaining two-thirds are to be for commercial use, to ensure internet coverage where terrestrial networks are not available. Of this, 50% is to be reserved for EU operators with the remainder open to foreign providers.
The proposed restrictions aim to "to encourage the diversification of suppliers and incentivize the entry into the market of EU suppliers," the commission said.
EU countries and the European Parliament still have to scrutinize and adopt the plans.
