Alternative to Starlink is present, but criticism of ties with Russia

• Roel van Niekerk

  Editor/reporter Nieuwsuur

• Fleur Damen

  Editor-reporter Nieuwsuur

It was a shock for Ukrainians when Elon Musk threatened to expand Starlink’s internet satellites over their country in February. Now that other internet connections have been destroyed by the war, Starlink is the only way to communicate in many places on the front.

So Ukraine and European Union are looking for an alternative. They establish their hope for Eutelsat. The originally French satellite company is the only European alternative to Starlink.

So the phone is red hot, says Eutelsat director Afke Schaarts. “The awareness has descended that we must be independent of American tech giants.” She does not shy away from her important task: “We can absolutely be the savior of Ukraine in the long term.”

But critics say that the company is not strictly complying with European sanctions against Russian media companies. Moreover, the question is whether Eutelsat can fill the void that Starlink may leave behind.

There are major differences in capacity: Musks company has more than 7000 internet satellites; Eutelsat has more than 600.

To receive the signal from a satellite on earth, receivers, a kind of antennas, are needed. At the moment there are around 40,000 to 50,000 recipients from Starlink in Ukraine. Eutelsat has only a few thousand, which are also larger and more expensive.

But the company can scale up, says Schaart. “We have five to ten thousand ready. And we can make even more available in the long term. That can be faster than many people think.”

Experts explain why Starlink is on for Eutelsat:

Not only for the future of the war in Ukraine is suddenly of great importance. The EU also establishes hope for the company. Around 2030 a new satellite communication network (Iris2) Be ready. That network consists of 290 satellites that should reduce European dependence on American technology. Main supplier of those satellites: Eutelsat.

But critics question the reliability of Eutelsat. In this way the company gets strong criticism of another part of their offer: television satellites. Countless television channels run through those satellites, including Russian. The Russian market accounts for around 5 to 7 percent of the turnover from Eutelsat.

Dozens of the channels fall under four Russian media companies that have been on for ages European sanction lists to stand. “From the moment those companies are on the sanction list, Eutelsat is therefore simply not allowed to do business with it,” says Sanction Lawyer Heleen about the Linden, who emphasizes that the sanction aims to remove income sources from sanctioned companies. “Direct and indirectly, you can’t do business with it in any way.”

Eutelsat director is fighting that her company bypasses the sanction rules. “We are not about the content,” she says when she is confronted with the Russian propaganda dunters. “We fully follow the laws and regulations. If we had done something that could not be done by law, we would have been fine.” Schaart lays the ball with the French regulator; He should prohibit Eutelsat to broadcast specific channels.

Shifting responsibility on the regulator is too easy, says about the Linden. “They have their own responsibility. Compare it with an entrepreneur who exports products that come on the sanction list, but keeps going as long as customs does not realize. Then it is a criminal offense if the product is on the sanction list.”

That is also what Reporters Without Borders, which fights for freedom of press. Together with the French Diderot Committeean NGO against war propaganda, they have been taking care of the Russian activities of Eutelsat for some time. “The EU sends tanks and weapons to Ukraine,” says Reporters Without Borders director Thibaut Bruttin. “But in the meantime we allow a European company to contribute to the brainwashing of the Russians. That is not logical.”

French politics shares that opinion. Recently the Parliament called Eutelsat to strictly comply with European sanctions against Russian media companies. Shortly thereafter, the French regulator Eutelsat instructed to stop broadcasting two Russian channels that fall under a sanctioned company.

Eutelsat then obtained several other channels from their satellites, including a propaganda zone of the Russian Ministry of Defense. But dozens of other channels of sanctioned companies are still going through Eutelsat, which also also has room hires On Russian satellites.

“Eutelsat is European, and that is a big advantage in the current world,” says Bruttin. “But I think we need a virtuous satellite company that should focus on new activities and say goodbye to dubious Russian media companies.”