Europe's Four Major Telecom Operators in Talks to Form Satellite Direct-to-Device Alliance

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On September 8, Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Vodafone, and Telefónica are in preliminary discussions to form a consortium, planning to jointly bid for part of the 2 GHz mobile satellite service spectrum that the EU is about to reallocate, and to use the relevant spectrum to provide satellite direct-to-device (D2D) services. The four companies have not yet made final decisions regarding the formation of the consortium or participation in the bid.

The potential bid involves the EU's 1980–2010 MHz and 2170–2200 MHz mobile satellite service bands. In May 2026, the European Commission proposed a new spectrum authorization scheme, planning to select operators and grant authorizations uniformly at the EU level, replacing the current system. The existing spectrum authorizations were granted in 2009 to Inmarsat (under Viasat) and Solaris (the predecessor of EchoStar), with each member state's authorization lasting 18 years and expiring in May 2027.

Under the allocation scheme proposed by the European Commission, one-third of the 2 GHz mobile satellite band is reserved for government communications, security, and military purposes, with services provided by EU operators and linked to the IRIS² secure communications system; the remaining two-thirds is allocated for commercial services, including satellite direct-to-device and IoT services. The commercial spectrum is then divided equally, with half reserved exclusively for EU operators entering the market, equivalent to one-third of the entire 2 GHz spectrum; the other half is open to both EU and non-EU operators.

All four operators have previously advanced their satellite direct-to-device technology strategies. Satellite Connect Europe, jointly established by Vodafone and AST SpaceMobile, officially began operations in February 2026, with headquarters in Luxembourg, and plans to deploy 5 ground stations across Europe. In March, Orange signed a memorandum of understanding with AST SpaceMobile and Satellite Connect Europe, planning to conduct voice, SMS, and data D2D demonstrations in Romania in the second half of 2026. Telefónica also partnered with Satellite Connect Europe during the same period to evaluate the integration of its satellite network with existing 4G and 5G networks in Spain and Germany.

In March 2026, Deutsche Telekom also reached a satellite direct-to-device partnership with Starlink, planning to launch related services in multiple European markets starting in 2028. The four European operators' current discussions on jointly bidding for the 2 GHz spectrum proceed in parallel with the D2D cooperation projects each company has already undertaken. No details have yet been disclosed regarding the proposed satellite constellation, consortium equity structure, bidding entity, investment scale, or commercial service timeline.