Starlink and Amazon eye EU mobile satellite spectrum, but Europe is keeping most of it for itself

The European Commission plans to reserve two-thirds of its 2 GHz mobile satellite spectrum for domestic companies, letting SpaceX and Amazon compete for the leftovers.

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Add us on Google by Editorial Team May. 26, 2026

The European Commission is drawing up a plan to divvy up its mobile satellite spectrum, and the message to American tech giants is clear: you can come to the party, but Europeans get to eat first.

Under the proposal, SpaceX’s Starlink and Amazon’s Project Kuiper would gain limited access to EU spectrum in the 2 GHz band. The catch? Two-thirds of that spectrum will be ringfenced for European companies, a deliberate move to bolster the bloc’s technological sovereignty in an era when satellite connectivity is becoming critical infrastructure.

What’s actually on the table

Current EU licenses in the 2 GHz frequency band, held by US firms Viasat and EchoStar, are set to expire in May 2027. The Commission’s new allocation process is expected to kick off next year, essentially reshuffling who gets to beam signals down to European soil from orbit.

Priority within the reserved European portion will go to IRIS², the EU’s own multi-orbit satellite constellation. That project is expected to comprise nearly 290 satellites and represents Brussels’ answer to the growing dominance of American-built satellite networks.

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The remaining one-third of the spectrum would be open to non-European bidders, creating a narrow but potentially lucrative window for Starlink and Amazon to establish or expand direct-to-device satellite services across the continent.

Amazon’s satellite ambitions just got more expensive

Amazon completed an $11.57 billion acquisition of Globalstar in April 2026, a deal squarely aimed at accelerating its low-Earth orbit direct-to-device capabilities through Project Kuiper.

SpaceX, meanwhile, already operates the largest commercial satellite constellation in history through Starlink. For Elon Musk’s company, the EU spectrum question is less about establishing presence and more about expanding capacity in a market where demand for satellite-based connectivity, particularly in remote and underserved areas, continues to climb.

Europe’s sovereignty play

The two-thirds reservation reflects a broader EU strategy to reduce dependence on American technology providers across multiple sectors. IRIS² is designed to provide secure governmental communications and commercial broadband services, giving Europe an independent alternative to Starlink and Kuiper. By guaranteeing IRIS² priority spectrum access, the Commission is essentially subsidizing its competitiveness through regulatory advantage rather than just funding.

The direct-to-device satellite market, which enables smartphones to connect to satellites without specialized hardware, is expected to become a major growth area as coverage gaps in rural and maritime environments become harder to justify.

What this means for investors

For Amazon and SpaceX, the one-third allocation represents a constrained opportunity. They’ll be competing against each other, and potentially other non-EU entrants, for a limited slice of valuable spectrum.

For European satellite companies and the broader IRIS² supply chain, the reservation creates a protected market. Investors looking at European space and telecom infrastructure should watch the bidding process closely once it begins next year, as the specific terms and pricing will determine whether the reserved spectrum translates into genuine commercial advantage.

The risk for Europe is that reservation without execution leads to underutilized spectrum. IRIS² is ambitious, but nearly 290 satellites need to be built, launched, and operated effectively. If the constellation faces delays, Europe could find itself sitting on reserved spectrum while American operators deliver superior service with their constrained allocation.

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