Eutelsat in Talks with EU to Provide Satellite Internet for Ukraine

The French-British-German satellite operator Eutelsat is negotiating with the European Union institutions to provide satellite communications services to Ukraine.

This was reported by Reuters.

Amid the possible shutdown of Starlink in Ukraine, Eutelsat shares have more than tripled in value in two days, adding more than €1 billion to the company’s market capitalization.

“We are exchanging with the EU as to how we can contribute to enhancing Ukraine efforts,” an Eutelsat spokesman told Reuters.

He also noted that the company owns geostationary satellites that can meet Ukraine’s various communication needs.

In addition to its own satellite fleet, Eutelsat owns the OneWeb group, with a total of 35 geostationary and more than 600 low-Earth orbit satellites.

The company assures that its services provide a level of coverage and data transfer speed comparable to Starlink.

“We are actively collaborating with European institutions and business partners to enable the swift deployment of additional user terminals for critical missions and infrastructure,” the company representative added.

Reducing dependence on Starlink

Militarnyi recently reported that Europe will help Ukraine switch from the Starlink to alternative satellite solutions.

According to European Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier, Ukraine has expressed interest in switching to alternative communication systems, including Govsatcom, a pooled network of the EU’s existing national government satellite capacity

The possibility of using the IRIS² satellite constellation was also discussed, but it is expected to be operational only in the 2030s.

Therefore, while this system is a potential alternative, it is not suitable for a quick transition in the event of a sudden shutdown of the U.S. system.

Govsatcom’s initial operational readiness should be achieved this year, but only as a temporary solution until IRIS² is fully deployed.