Brussels wants to limit the services of Elon Musk and Amazon's satellites in the EU

BrusselsNew measure from Brussels to try to reduce dependence on the United States and increase strategic autonomy. The European Commission proposed a legislative proposal this Wednesday to prioritize European companies over American ones that provide satellite services throughout the European Union. "We want to boost Europe's competitiveness and strengthen security, [...] taking into account the current geopolitical context", remarked the Vice-President for Technological Sovereignty of the European Commission, Henna Virkkunen, in an implicit reference to Donald Trump's desire to distance himself from European allies.

Specifically, the Community executive intends for the 2 GHz band, which is used for wireless networks, to cease being primarily in the hands of companies from foreign powers from 2027, when the concession currently held by the American companies Viasat and Echostar, who have held it since 2009, ends. Neither of these two companies, nor Elon Musk's SpaceX or Jeff Bezos' Amazon Leo, which are in full expansion, will be able to retain the third of the band designated for governmental use, such as critical communications, security, and, among other things, military purposes.

Regarding the remaining two-thirds, which are dedicated to commercial communications, Brussels also wants to prioritize by law the activity of European Union companies. However, it will not veto in its entirety the entry of companies from foreign powers and will allow half of the satellite services intended for commercial communications to be provided by companies not based in Community territory. These services are more focused on mobile phones, especially when coverage by terrestrial networks is not available, and for what is known as the Internet of Things.

In this way, at least two-thirds of this band must be controlled by European companies, and if foreign companies wish to enter, they must have a headquarters within the European Union. Brussels is also increasing controls to ensure that these companies have data protection and cybersecurity measures.

This is one of the various measures that Brussels is implementing to increase autonomy with respect to the United States, especially in the military field. However, even though the White House is increasingly disregarding European interests, it does not receive initiatives that restrict the entry of American companies into the European market very well either.

For the moment, the Vice-President of the European Commission has avoided clarifying at a press conference whether contact has been made with US authorities in the preparation of this legislative proposal and, in any case, has assured that part of the satellite band will remain open to US companies. On the other hand, Virkkunen recalled that a "European operator who was interested in accessing" the US band "was denied" permission. On the other hand, Brussels has also opened the door to accepting the entry of companies based in close allies, such as Norway and, among others, the United Kingdom, although Virkkunen has clarified that it is a matter that "will have to be negotiated".

An opportunity for the State's industry

One of the main objectives of the legislative proposal is to boost European industry and, therefore, there are several companies from all over the State with activity in Catalonia or directly based in the Principality that can benefit from it. One of the most notable cases is Hispasat –from the Indra group–, which is the Spanish company par excellence in the space sector and, in particular, in the satellite business. The Catalan company Sateliot, which also includes Indra, Cellnex and, among others, the Spanish state, can also do very well out of it.