Deutsche Telekom, Vodafone, Orange, and Telefónica — four of Europe's largest mobile network operators — are in early-stage negotiations to form a joint venture for providing satellite internet directly to smartphones, according to Bloomberg.
The consortium would bid for spectrum that the EU plans to reserve for European providers as part of a broader regulatory overhaul of satellite communications. Currently, the 2 GHz satellite band used for mobile satellite applications operates under a regime set to expire in May 2027.
The EU's Starlink Strategy
The EU wants to ensure European companies have a stake in the satellite internet market currently dominated by SpaceX's Starlink. Under the proposed reallocation, one-third of the spectrum between 1980-2010 MHz and 2170-2200 MHz would be reserved for government communications tied to the planned IRIS² project. The remaining two-thirds would be split equally between EU-based providers and providers from the EU or elsewhere.
The four telecom operators want to collectively bid for the EU-reserved portion, giving them access to spectrum that non-European companies like Starlink could not obtain on their own.
Vodafone's Complicated Position
Vodafone, headquartered in the UK and therefore outside the EU after Brexit, complicates the picture. The company already operates a joint venture with US satellite company AST SpaceMobile. Vodafone may only be eligible for the non-EU portion of the spectrum, but by partnering with the three EU-headquartered operators, it could attempt to gain access to the EU-reserved frequencies — though the exact mechanism for this remains unclear.
A Continent-Wide Challenger
If the joint venture materializes, it would represent the most significant European counterweight to Starlink in the smartphone satellite internet space. The four operators collectively serve hundreds of millions of customers across Europe and beyond, giving the venture an immediate distribution advantage.
No final decisions have been made, and none of the four companies have commented publicly on the negotiations.
