Two satellite heavyweights are about to form a European rival of Starlink. But they will compete against Elon Musk's company before a hard fight.
The proposed takeover of Intelsat in Luxembourg in Ses uses the green light of EU officials. Reuters Reports. A final judgment is expected until June 10th.
SES initially announced plans to acquire the Luxembourg-American rival Intelsat in April 2024 and to describe it as a “transformation distortion”, which could implement the satellite internet market.
The combined company would have a fleet of more than 100 geostationary and 26 medium -sized earth ornamental satellites. Intelsat would contribute 75 of these probes that offer a number of services, including television, radio, satellite internet and secure communication for governments and military.
A SES-ITSAST ANDACTION would create Europe's second largest satellite internet provider after the French-British company Eutelsat. Smaller competitors contain the Great Britain's Inmarsat and Spain's Hisdeseat.
Together, the satellite companies in Europe could at a time the continent at a time when Tech sovereignty Is high on the political agenda.
European leaders are increasingly concerned about relying on Starlink. Your fears were enthusiastic about Report that US officials threatened to cut off the system in Ukraine if the country has not met its demands for sharing its mineral assets.
The situation brought doubts about the security effects of Ukraine – and the broader Europe – to a single private network, whose boss has direct relationships with the Trump administration. Eustalstat, Ses, Inmarsat and Hisdesat Reports reported discussions with me Governments in March on the provision of back-up connectivity for Ukraine.
Despite the SES -Intelsat Fusion, which creates a more impressive European player, the new alliance will still face a discouraging challenge against the dominance of Starlink.
Musk's company exhibits its competitors in satellite numbers, with over 7,000 in low Earth orbit (Leo). The closest rival, Eutelsat, has around 600. In the meantime, the Amazon project Kuiper is planning to use a constellation of 3,236 satellites.
Part of SpaceX also offers Starlink direct access to satellite production and starting capacity. In contrast, SES and Intelsat depend on the starting provider of third -party providers and are currently missing a proprietary circulation network with a low earth. While Intsat has an agreement of $ 250 million via access to Eutelsat -leo capacity, this dependence on external constellations sets up the collected company.
Even in combination with the other players in Europe – including Eutelsat, Inmarsat and Hisdeseat – the proposed merger fades in comparison. Since the European political decision -makers push for strategic autonomy in space, the SES -Intelsat merging may be a step in the right direction, but it is still far from a real Starlink rival.
