US warns of 'devastating' retaliation over EU plan to curb Starlink spectrum access

What's the deal? US ambassador to the EU Andrew Puzder has warned of "devastating" retaliation if Brussels proceeds with a plan to reserve most of a prized satellite-to-smartphone spectrum band for European operators. Speaking to the Financial Times, Puzder said the size of the US market gives Washington significant scope to hit back.

What's being proposed? The European Commission wants to carve up the 2GHz band — used for direct connections between satellites and mobile devices — once current licences held by Viasat and EchoStar expire in May 2027. One third would be reserved for government, security, and defence services tied to the EU's IRIS² programme; of the commercial two thirds, half is reserved for European operators.

Who loses out? That leaves only a limited slice open to non-EU firms such as SpaceX's Starlink and Amazon's satellite business, Leo. Puzder argued European companies would effectively bear the cost of squeezing out those rivals.

What's the rationale? The Commission frames the reform as a matter of sustainability, security, and competitiveness, part of a broader push to cut European reliance on US satellite operators. Washington sees it as discriminatory.

Why now? "Brussels needs to be careful," Puzder said, adding: "You cannot increase the competitiveness of European companies by undermining the competitiveness of American ones." The threat lands just days after Poland pushed for its own "Polish Starlink" with ICEYE and PGZ, and amid separate friction between Warsaw and SpaceX over Starlink/Starshield access for Ukraine.

What happens next? The proposal is not a ban on Starlink, and it still needs to clear the EU legislative process; discussions on selection criteria and access conditions remain open — so the retaliation threat is a warning, not a measure already imposed.

The signal: The clash marks a new front in a widening fight over technological sovereignty, testing how far "strategic autonomy" can shape market access — and whether it becomes a broader transatlantic trade dispute.

Read more: FT · Politico Europe · Spiegel