European satellites instead of Starlink: how Ukraine will get a new connection
3 March 16:40
The European Union is actively exploring alternatives to Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite communications to support Ukraine amid concerns about potential service disruptions and geopolitical dependence. This is reported by "Komersant Ukrainian" with reference to Politico.
Starlink, operated by Elon Musk’s SpaceX, plays a key role in maintaining Internet connectivity. This has become especially evident since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. As of last year, there were about 42,000 terminals in Ukraine that were actively used.
However, against the backdrop of unsuccessful negotiations between the presidents of Ukraine and the United States, the American side raised the possibility of terminating Ukraine’s access to Starlink if an agreement on mining is not reached.
In response, the European Commission began to look for options to strengthen Ukraine’s satellite communications capabilities with the help of European systems. Currently, there are two communication networks in question:
- Govsatcom. This federated network brings together existing national government satellite capacities in the EU. Ukraine has expressed interest in integrating with Govsatcom, which can offer more secure and autonomous communication channels.
- IRIS². The EU is developing its own satellite constellation, IRIS², aimed at reducing dependence on non-European providers such as Starlink. This €10.6 billion project will consist of more than 290 satellites in low and medium Earth orbit, with operational readiness scheduled for 2030.
It is worth noting that European politicians are actively defending these alternatives. For example, French MEP Christophe Grudler called on the European Commission to “evaluate all possible alternative satellite solutions that the EU can offer Ukraine” to replace Starlink. He suggested speeding up the deployment of Govsatcom, bypassing certain certification processes to provide immediate support.
The EU is also considering using commercial satellite services from European providers:
- Eutelsat, Hispasat and SES. These companies operate satellites in geostationary orbit that could potentially offer immediate communications solutions for Ukraine.
- OneWeb: This satellite constellation is another viable alternative to provide uninterrupted satellite communications.
