{"text":[[{"start":4.64,"text":"In the new race for space, Europe has already fallen so far behind that catching up looks barely conceivable. Yet last week’s reports of disruptions to Starlink services in Ukraine show that catch up it must, at least when it comes to satellite-based communications. This will require more creative solutions than simply writing large cheques."}],[{"start":25.52,"text":"At the moment, Europe’s main alternative to Starlink for the satellite connectivity that has proved so crucial to Ukraine is Eutelsat’s OneWeb. But they are in different leagues. Not only does OneWeb have some 600 low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites compared with over 10,000 for Starlink, but these are positioned further away from Earth: time, and thus proximity, is of the essence in battlefield combat."}],[{"start":50.4,"text":"That leaves Europe scrambling to put in place alternative arrangements. One of these is IRIS², led by European satellite operators SES, Eutelsat and Hispasat, with first launches expected in 2029. Its planned fleet was recently expanded to 348 satellites across low and medium Earth orbit. Meanwhile, telecoms companies Vodafone, Telefónica, Orange and Deutsche Telekom have clubbed together to express interest in acquiring part of the spectrum to provide mobile satellite coverage that Europe wants to reserve for domestic use."}],[{"start":86.051,"text":"Europe doesn’t quite need to replicate Elon Musk’s brainchild, of course: offering satellite-enabled broadband to rural communities is valuable rather than strategically vital. But it does need to be able to replicate its capabilities in defence, and there is no world in which that doesn’t require huge subsidies."}],[{"start":104,"text":"For a rough idea of the numbers, the recent €15.6bn budget for the IRIS² constellation suggests an all-in cost per satellite of more than €40mn. Elon Musk’s most recent version of Starlink comes to $1.3mn on New Street numbers and provides a multiple of the capacity to boot."}],[{"start":124.467,"text":"That’s a big wedge for governments to fill. But even splurging on homegrown options won’t, by itself, solve Europe’s problem in anything like a reasonable length of time: technology, corporate structure and local culture are all limiting factors too."}],[{"start":139.2,"text":"The rocket-launching technology that SpaceX excels at is an obvious bottleneck: last year, only 7 per cent of European-owned satellites launched on European rockets, according to Berenberg analysis. SES is highly indebted, while Eutelsat — recapitalised with government support earlier this year — lacks sufficient operating cash flows to support its capital expenditure. Space capabilities are fragmented among different countries and defence contractors."}],[{"start":167.621,"text":"To have any hope of catching up with the US, then, Europe may well have to provide its companies with looser reins and bigger carrots. Already, there are signs that it is leaning that way. One incentive is for governments to place large orders — that will provide SES with at least €500mn of incremental revenue between 2030 and 2035, Goldman Sachs estimates."}],[{"start":189.68,"text":"EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has espoused fast-tracking competition approval for Airbus, Thales and Leonardo’s proposed combination of their space capabilities, and telecoms companies hope to be allowed to merge, even when that reduces competition. The tight regulation of telcos, which ensures they provide an affordable and reliable service, may also have had the side effect of making them less willing to experiment and innovate."}],[{"start":214.32,"text":"Such moves won’t be cost-free for European consumers, but that may be the cost of bringing European tech firms a little closer to Silicon Valley, in spirit at least. The situation in Ukraine shows how much there is at stake."}],[{"start":230.08,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1792563229_2948.mp3"}