Shares in European satellite operator Eutelsat surged on Wednesday after Ukraine announced that SpaceX’s Starlink was imposing restrictions on its military-grade service. This news raised investor hopes that European satellite providers could gain from increasing tension between the U.S. and Ukraine. Eutelsat’s stock jumped 23%, marking its largest one-day gain in 16 months, while competitor SES also saw a 2.6% rise.
Analysts indicated that the situation reflects the expectation that European governments and customers might look for alternatives to U.S.-owned satellite services due to uncertain access. Bernstein analyst Aleksander Peterc suggested that recent developments in U.S. policy could limit access to American satellite services, putting European providers in a favorable position.
Eutelsat is one of the few companies, alongside SpaceX, that offers space-based internet through its OneWeb network. However, with Starlink having around 10,000 satellites compared to Eutelsat’s over 600, experts warn that transitioning from Starlink to OneWeb would not be simple. Significant operational and infrastructure challenges exist, making it complicated for existing Starlink users to switch to OneWeb.
With information from Reuters
