French satellite operator Eutelsat is in detailed talks with the EU to replace Starlink as Ukraine’s primary service for military communications, company CEO Eva Berneke said on March 6th.
Eutelsat already operates in Ukraine and currently has thousands of OneWeb terminals, although not all are connected, Berneke explained. She said discussions with suppliers are underway and that it will take a “couple of months” to deploy 40,000 terminals – the approximate number of Starlink units in use in Ukraine.
Berneke said Eutelsat will need European Commission financial and logistical support to quickly increase the number of terminals in the country.
The Ukrainian reports have helped propel Eutelsat shares upward. Eutelsat rose 18 per cent on March 6th, bringing gains over four days to near 650 per cent.
The Italian government is also expressing growing doubts about closing a €1.5 billion ($1.6 billion) deal with Elon Musk’s Starlink in light of the US pullback from commitments to European security. The issue came up at a meeting with ministers on March 4th, when Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said changing geopolitics required looking for viable SpaceX alternatives, according to the people familiar with the issue.
The news coincides with Canada declaring that the tariffs dispute with the US could lead to Starlink losing business in Canada, its second-largest customer, with around 533,000 connections. Ontario announced a $100 million partnership in November 2024 to offer Starlink to 15,000 homes and businesses in rural and northern areas, a deal that was cancelled on March 4th.
“We won’t award contracts to people who enable and encourage economic attacks on our province and our country,” Ontario premier Doug Ford said at a press conference.
