Starlink competition

Eutelsat tests 5G connection via satellite

Unlike Starlink, the Eutelsat solution does not require any special receiving terminals. However, Starlink is also testing satellite telephony via standard cell phones in the USA.(Bild: Eutelsat Group)

Eutelsat has achieved a stage victory in its competition with Elon Musk's satellite company Starlink. On Monday, the Franco-British company announced the world's first successful test of a mobile connection based on the 5G standard via satellite. This is supported by commercially available smartphones, while Starlink requires special devices for internet connections. 

The development of so-called "Non-Terrestrial Networks" (NTN) is part of the Iris2 investment program worth almost eleven billion euros, in the course of which almost 300 satellites are to be launched into low or medium orbits.

Other rivals at the start
Other companies also want to take market share away from Starlink. For example, the partly state-owned Chinese satellite operator SpaceSail will offer internet connections in Brazil in future. Starlink was caught between the fronts in a dispute between the local supreme court and Musk's short messaging service X.

According to insiders, Brazil's government is negotiating similar offers with the Amazon subsidiary Project Kuiper and the Canadian company Telesat. Kuiper, Telesat, Starlink and the Brazilian government were initially unavailable for comment on the matter.

Wild West in space
Starlink is currently the world's largest satellite operator with around 7000 satellites. The number is set to rise to 42,000 by 2030. China wants to launch a similar number of small satellites into low-Earth orbit in the medium term.

Antoine Grenier, space expert at the consultancy firm Analysys Mason, compared the hitherto little-regulated business to the Wild West. "The pioneers enjoy relative freedom and use it to their advantage to take up key positions before the regulations become stricter."