Brussels is about to redraw the map for mobile satellite services in Europe. And the two biggest names in space-based internet, SpaceX’s Starlink and Amazon’s Project Kuiper, are waiting at the door.
The European Commission is expected to announce a proposal on May 27, 2026, that would reallocate spectrum in the 2 GHz band currently used for mobile satellite services. Roughly two-thirds of that spectrum would be reserved for European companies. The remaining third could be opened to non-EU bidders, including Starlink and Amazon.
Why the spectrum is up for grabs
The current licenses for this band are held by two US firms: Viasat and EchoStar. Those licenses expire in May 2027, creating a window for the EU to completely rethink who gets to operate in this frequency range.
Rather than simply renewing or auctioning the licenses to the highest bidder, the Commission is taking a more strategic approach. The two-thirds reservation for European entities is designed to feed directly into the EU’s flagship satellite program, known as IRIS².
IRIS² is a multi-orbit constellation of 290 satellites built to provide secure connectivity for government, commercial, and civilian purposes across Europe.
The Starlink and Kuiper factor
The proposal also opens the door to UK and Norwegian companies, which expands the competitive field beyond the EU’s 27 member states. This is notable because the UK, post-Brexit, owns a stake in OneWeb (now part of Eutelsat), giving it significant satellite ambitions of its own.
What this means for investors
For European space and telecom companies, this is a significant tailwind. Guaranteed spectrum access reduces one of the biggest risks in the satellite business: the possibility that you build a constellation and then can’t get the frequencies to operate it. The 290-satellite IRIS² program should attract meaningful investment as a result, since the regulatory framework is being built to support it.
The expiration of Viasat and EchoStar’s licenses in May 2027 gives the Commission roughly a year to finalize the rules and run whatever allocation process it designs. For investors tracking the satellite communications sector, the May 27 announcement should clarify the specific mechanisms, whether this will be a traditional auction, a beauty contest based on technical proposals, or some hybrid. Each approach would favor different types of bidders and carry different implications for the companies involved.