FCC Chairman Brendan Carr has called on EU nations to reassess their satellite strategies amid growing concern over dependence on Starlink for critical services.
Speaking to the Financial Times, Carr stressed the need for Western unity and urged allies to keep their long-term focus on the strategic challenge posed by the rise of the Chinese Communist Party.
Carr’s comments come as skepticism increases in Europe about relying on Starlink as a stable partner. Concerns intensified after reports that Washington considered suspending the satellite internet service to Ukraine, prompting worries about dependence on a single private provider.
Poland’s former foreign minister Radek Sikorski voiced such concerns in early March. In a post on X, Sikorski noted that if SpaceX proved unreliable, Poland would need to seek alternative suppliers.
Starlinks for Ukraine are paid for by the Polish Digitization Ministry at the cost of about $50 million per year.
The ethics of threatening the victim of aggression apart, if SpaceX proves to be an unreliable provider we will be forced to look for other suppliers. https://t.co/WaJWCklgPE— Radosław Sikorski 🇵🇱🇪🇺 (@sikorskiradek) March 9, 2025
Sikorski’s remarks followed a contentious comment from Elon Musk suggesting Ukraine’s defence would falter without Starlink assistance.
Poland currently pays roughly half the cost of about 50,000 Starlink terminals, which have played a crucial role for Ukrainian military and civilian authorities since Russia’s invasion.
Musk’s direct reply to Sikorski drew attention in Europe: “Be quiet, small man. You pay a tiny fraction of the cost. And there is no substitute for Starlink.”
EU looks to homegrown alternatives for its long-term satellite strategy
Wary of over-reliance and the geopolitical risks it brings, EU governments are exploring European and allied alternatives for satellite services and other critical infrastructure.
One candidate is OneWeb, a British-based LEO satellite operator in which France’s Eutelsat holds a significant stake. Eutelsat acquired a 24 percent interest in OneWeb in 2021, positioning the company as a potential rival to Starlink. But OneWeb faces steep challenges in matching Starlink’s scale and market traction.
SpaceX’s Starlink operates more than 4,400 satellites, while Eutelsat OneWeb has launched roughly 660 to date. Cost and user experience are also obstacles: OneWeb terminals can cost over $3,200 and tend to be bulkier, whereas current Starlink kits are sold for under $400 and have a more compact design.
Security concerns have also affected Eutelsat. Early in the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, malware linked to Russian actors disabled a number of Eutelsat-managed terminals, raising questions about network robustness under geopolitical pressure.
Political frictions and shifting alliances
Carr criticised what he sees as politically motivated decision-making in the EU on satellite technologies and urged Europe to reconsider its stance on Starlink. He warned that a CCP-backed alternative could present an even greater strategic threat.
A vocal supporter of Elon Musk’s commercial ventures, Carr has also criticised the Biden administration’s denial of certain subsidies to Starlink that were intended for rural broadband deployment in the US.
Carr argues Europe faces a strategic choice and risks being caught between US and Chinese technological ecosystems. He warned that a growing divide between countries aligned with the Chinese Communist Party and Western states is already appearing in key sectors such as artificial intelligence and satellite communications.
Carr has accused European regulators of showing an “anti-American” bias and urged allies to weigh whether dependence on US technology presents fewer risks than reliance on Chinese alternatives.
Starlink has set a high bar in satellite internet with its performance and reliability, making it attractive to governments and businesses. Yet as the EU pursues the idea of self-reliant infrastructure, analysts point out the significant operational and financial hurdles to building a competitive, Europe-based satellite system.
(Photo by Lucas Gallone)
See also: Huawei courts Europe amid geopolitical shifts
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