On Monday, October 19, 2026, four of Europe’s largest telecommunications operators—Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Telefónica, and Vodafone—announced the signing of a Letter of Intent to explore a joint bid for upcoming Mobile Satellite Services (MSS) spectrum across Europe.
The cross-border initiative establishes an operator-led framework to deliver Direct-to-Device (D2D) satellite connectivity across the continent, directly supporting the European Commission’s strategy to reinforce strategic sovereignty, network security, and critical infrastructure resilience.
Strategic European Sovereignty and Non-Discriminatory Access
The collaborative effort seeks to create a unified, European-governed non-terrestrial network layer capable of serving commercial mobile subscribers and emergency services without fragmenting national markets. Under the proposed operating framework, the four telecommunications companies plan to pool their network operations, regulatory scale, and customer reach while guaranteeing open, non-discriminatory wholesale access to all mobile network operators throughout Europe.
By establishing an open regional platform, the consortium aims to counter single-vendor mega-constellations and align commercial mobile networks with the European Union’s broader space policy. The initiative complements ongoing European space autonomy projects, including the European Space Agency’s development of the multi-orbit IRIS² sovereign communications constellation. The operators confirmed that exploring a joint spectrum bid will not replace their independent commercial satellite arrangements with existing non-terrestrial network partners.
Ground Architecture and 2 GHz Spectrum Parameters
Rather than financing and constructing a proprietary satellite constellation, the consortium plans to select an independent satellite operator partner to provide the orbital space segment. The four telecom operators will focus capital expenditure on building and managing ground segment routing nodes, core network interfaces, and European data monitoring facilities.
The initiative targets the upcoming European allocation of 2 GHz MSS frequencies, an orbital band previously analyzed regarding major opportunities for 2 GHz spectrum over Europe. Utilizing standardized 3GPP non-terrestrial network protocols will allow standard commercial smartphones to communicate directly with partner satellites across remote and off-grid areas without specialized hardware.
Consortium Next Steps and Satellite Partner Selection
Over the coming months, Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Telefónica, and Vodafone will formalize operational specifications, engage with European regulatory bodies, and initiate a competitive evaluation to select their commercial satellite constellation partner ahead of the European Commission’s spectrum allocation process.
