ESPI warns EU spectrum reservation alone won't secure European D2D autonomy

what happened

ESPI research fellow Elisabeth Clemmons published a policy brief, "Borrowed Bandwidth? Direct-to-device and Europe's ambition for full-stack autonomy," on Oct. 14, arguing the European Commission's proposal to reserve part of the 2 GHz mobile satellite services band for EU operators is not sufficient on its own, per Via Satellite's Oct. 16 report on the brief. Clemmons said reports of European mobile network operators making a joint bid for the spectrum risk a "quasi-sovereign outcome" if that bid ends up partnering with a non-European satellite operator for the direct-to-device capability, and called on the Commission to keep room for smaller firms and remove barriers to entry for new European D2D solutions.

why it matters

The European Commission's 2 GHz MSS proposal will decide which companies hold Europe's most valuable direct-to-device spectrum, currently held by Inmarsat (now Viasat) and Solaris (now EchoStar), and ESPI's brief argues spectrum reservation alone could still hand the underlying technology and scale to a non-European satellite operator even if a European brand holds the license. For European mobile operators, satellite operators and spacecraft manufacturers positioning for D2D, the brief frames the stakes as Clemmons put it: "Reserving spectrum for European operators is a welcome step, but it is not enough. If European spectrum and European brands end up unlocking scale for foreign space assets, Europe will have kept the label and lost the substance. That is why we need a full-stack approach."

signal-to-noise

quick facts

Companies

none listed

Category

regulatory

Impact

notable

SNR

4 / 5

Event date

2026-10-14

Published

2026-10-16 22:03 UTC