The US has warned the European Union of potentially devastating retaliation if Brussels restricts US companies' access to parts of the European satellite communications market. The warning was issued by Washington's EU ambassador Andrew Pazder in an interview with the Financial Times.
The reason is the European Union's plans to give priority to European operators in the allocation of radio frequencies used for communication between satellites and mobile devices. Among the affected US companies could be Elon Musk's SpaceX, which operates the Starlink network.
Pazder said European companies should consider the possibility of retaliation, pointing to the size of the US market. In his words, “European companies need to be careful because this could happen and the consequences for them would be very destructive“.
The dispute is about the frequency spectrum
The European Commission proposed in May to reserve part of the 2-gigahertz band for European satellite operators. This resource is used for direct connection between satellites and mobile devices, and currently part of it is provided to the American companies Viasat and EchoStar.
The changes have not yet been finally adopted. They must be approved by the EU member states and the European Parliament. The proposal does not provide for a ban on the operation of Starlink, but it could reduce the frequency resource available to companies outside the EU.
Washington sees the initiative as a measure that puts American operators at a disadvantage. Pazder said: “You don't make European companies more competitive by making American companies less competitive.“
SpaceX links dispute to Ukraine
SpaceX has already criticized the proposed changes. The company warned that they could degrade the quality of satellite communications in Ukraine, where Starlink is used for communications by civil services and military structures.
This is one of the arguments with which the American company opposes the plans for the redistribution of frequencies. The European institutions, for their part, justify the initiative with the need for greater technological independence and limiting dependence on foreign operators in critical infrastructure.
Back in March, the chairman of the US Federal Communications Commission, Brendan Carr, warned that Washington could take retaliatory action if the EU gave priority to European satellite companies.
So far, no American retaliatory measures have been announced or implemented. The next stage is the consideration of the proposal by the member states and the European Parliament, which will determine whether and in what form the new rules will enter into force.
Sources: focus-news.net, lrt.lt, meduza.io