London, 19 October 2026 — EBM Newsdesk Analysis — By Katie Winearls
Andrew Puzder, the US ambassador to the EU, has warned that European companies could face “devastating” retaliation in the US market if Brussels restricts SpaceX’s Starlink. He told the Financial Times that Europe did not need what he called “synchronised mediocrity”. The fight is over one narrow slice of radio spectrum, the 2GHz band that lets satellites connect directly to ordinary mobile phones. The current licences, held by American firms Viasat and EchoStar since 2009, expire in 2027.
For European business, this is the moment the sovereignty debate gets a price tag. Brussels wants its own satellite capability so it is not dependent on a company controlled by one man and one government. Washington is now saying any company with US sales could be made to pay for that ambition. It is a familiar pattern: Trump moves in hours while the EU takes years.
What Brussels Wants
The European Commission proposed in May to split the band into three 10MHz blocks for 20 years. The first would go to secure government communications, including IRIS², the EU’s planned satellite network. The second would be reserved for European startups. Only the third would be open to all comers, so SpaceX would be competing for one block at most.
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SubscribeThe Commission says the plan encourages new European suppliers and stays open to outside operators. Nothing is final. The European Parliament and member states still have to agree it.
Why Washington Cares So Much
Starlink Mobile, SpaceX’s direct-to-phone service, is being built around this band. The US regulator has cleared 15,000 of its next-generation satellites, and Brazil has already granted full access. Europe is one of the biggest markets left to win, and Deutsche Telekom plans a Starlink-based phone service for 2028.
SpaceX is also no ordinary company. Since its record flotation this year it has looked less like a tech stock and more like a privatised arm of US defence. Not one of its 21 IPO underwriters was European, as we reported in May. Washington treats its interests as national interests.
FCC chairman Brendan Carr has already said the US could “mirror” Europe’s approach and push European satellite operators out of the American market.
The Ukraine Problem
SpaceX’s sharpest argument is Ukraine. It warned that the EU plan could weaken connectivity there, where Starlink carries civilian and military communications. But that argument has just backfired. On 14 October, Starlink service for fast-moving terminals in Ukraine was throttled without warning, disrupting drone operations. Musk said the limits on the military service, Starshield, are set by the US government, and Reuters reported that the White House ordered them.
The timing coincided with US pressure on Kyiv to stop striking Russian oil refineries, the same pressure behind Trump’s diesel deal with Putin. For European governments, that is the strongest possible case for having their own system. A network that Washington can switch off is not a network Europe can rely on.
The Call
Puzder has a point about European weakness. Brussels cannot regulate its way to a world-class satellite industry, and IRIS² is years behind Starlink. Reserving spectrum for startups that do not yet exist is a gamble.
But the threat proves Europe’s case for it. Last week showed that access to Starlink can be throttled for political reasons. No serious government would leave its military, emergency services and phone networks dependent on that. Europe should hold its ground on the government block, negotiate hard on the rest, and expect Washington to retaliate through trade anyway. As Amazon’s push into satellites shows, Starlink will not be the only option for long.
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