Europe is taking on Elon Musk with its own Starlink rival

SpaceX founder Elon Musk said last year he denied a request to turn on Starlink in Crimea, thwarting a Ukrainian attack on the Russian fleet.

Elon Musk’s Starlink could have a new rival after the European Union confirmed it will join the race to provide high-speed internet to remote locations.

The EU said Monday it had finalized plans to build a €10.6 billion ($11.1 billion) satellite network that will take on SpaceX’s Starlink. The bloc said the Iris² satellite constellation will include 290 satellites in low and medium-Earth orbit, with the service expected to be up and running by 2030.

European politicians have previously expressed concerns about the dangers of becoming overly reliant on Starlink.

SpaceX’s satellite internet service has around 7,000 satellites in orbit, according to expert estimates, and has seen traffic surge in recent years as it has expanded its operations to over 100 countries.

Starlink has also played a vital role in the war in Ukraine, with Ukrainian military forces relying on the service for military communications.

That reliance has caused tensions with SpaceX’s billionaire owner. In September 2023, Musk said he had denied a request to activate Starlink in Crimea, thwarting an attack on Russia’s Black Sea fleet.

Musk has also frequently clashed with European regulators, who have launched proceedings against his social media platform, X, over the platform’s blue checkmark system, which the EU says is misleading.

Europe has also been trying to cut its dependence on SpaceX’s rockets with the Ariane 6, a reusable rocket that rivals SpaceX’s Falcon 9 and had a successful first flight in July.

The EU is not the only one building their own Starlink rival. Amazon is working on its own network of internet-providing satellites, called Project Kuiper, with the first satellites expected to be deployed next year.