It’s time for Europe to choose between US or Chinese satellite tech, says FCC chair
- FCC chair Brendan Carr warns European countries that they need to choose between using US or Chinese satellite technology, as politics are influencing long-term decisions.
- Carr believes Europe is “caught” between Washington and Beijing, with a growing divide in AI and satellite technology between “CCP-aligned countries” and others.
- European alternatives to Starlink, such as France’s Eutelsat, may take years to catch up with the US-based SpaceX constellation, which has 7,135 satellites.
- Carr criticizes European regulators for having a “bias” against US tech companies and accuses the European Commission of “protectionism” and an “anti-American” attitude.
- China’s Low Earth orbit mega constellation operator, Spacesail, is making rapid progress and plans to launch 15,000 satellites by 2030, posing a challenge to Starlink’s dominance.
European allies who have reservations about working with Elon Musk’s Starlink will have more to worry about if they side with Chinese satellite internet services, Federal Communications Commission chair Brendan Carr told the Financial Times. Carr said that politics having an influence on long-term decisions in Europe was “unfortunate,” and that “allied Western democracies” should instead be focusing on “the real long-term bogey: the rise of the Chinese Communist party.”
“If you’re concerned about Starlink, just wait for the CCP’s version, then you’ll be really worried,” Carr told The Times. “If Europe has its own satellite constellation then great, I think the more the better. But more broadly, I think Europe is caught a little bit between the US and China. And it’s sort of time for choosing.”
Starlink, which is owned by Musk’s SpaceX company, is the largest global satellite constellation operator, providing internet and limited mobile connectivity via a network of 7,135 satellites. Some European governments and companies have suspended Starlink purchase negotiations and started exploring other options in recent weeks after Musk said on X that Ukraine’s “entire front line” would collapse if he switched off access for the country.
European alternatives could take years to catch up with Starlink, however, with the frontrunner, France’s Eutelsat, operating around a tenth as many satellites and charging around ten times more for its terminals. And while China’s Low Earth orbit (LEO) mega constellation operator, Spacesail, only currently has around 90 satellites in orbit, it’s making far swifter progress and plans to have launched 15,000 satellites by 2030, placing it in a better position to challenge Starlink.
Carr told The Times that he believes Europe is “caught” between Washington and Beijing and that he was concerned a “great divide” in AI and satellite technology was opening between “CCP-aligned countries and others.”
These comments come amid escalating breakdowns in the relationship between European governments and the US since Donald Trump came into power and bedded down with wealthy US tech leaders. Carr said that European regulators — which have various ongoing investigations into Meta, Apple, Google, and X — had a “bias” against US tech companies. Carr also accused the European Commission of “protectionism” and having an “anti-American” attitude, according to The Times.