Satellites: Orange, Vodafone, Deutsche Telekom and Telefónica are examining a joint offer
Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Telefónica and Vodafone announced on October 19, 2026 their intention to jointly examine a candidacy for the future allocation, in Europe, of frequencies intended for mobile satellite services (MSS). The described framework divides roles: to operators, the ground network and supervision; to a satellite partner yet to be designated, the constellation.
A joint candidacy for MSS frequencies, still in the study phase
The document signed by the four groups is a letter of intent. Its purpose is to "examine a potential joint candidacy" with a view to the future allocation, in Europe, of MSS frequencies. At this stage, no candidacy has been submitted: the operators have committed to examining the possibility.
According to the press release, this initiative supports the European Commission's ambition to strengthen Europe's sovereignty, security and resilience in the field of critical connectivity infrastructure. The signatories indicate that it will help ensure European governance of its main space infrastructure.
Ground infrastructure for operators, satellites entrusted to a third party
As part of the project, the four operators plan to establish ground network infrastructure in Europe, as well as coordination and supervision functions. They specify that they would not invest directly in a satellite constellation.
This would be provided by a satellite partner that remains to be selected. The press release presents this future partnership as the combination of European governance and market access, provided by mobile operators, with the technology and deployment capacity of the satellite operator.
The signatories finally indicate that this letter of intent does not replace existing satellite partnerships.
Open access to D2D services for all mobile operators
The project should enable all mobile network operators to access, in an open and non-discriminatory manner, the means necessary to offer their customers "Direct-to-Device" (D2D) services. These services would be offered according to a model designed, according to the signatories, to promote competition, reduce market fragmentation and expand consumer choice in Europe.
The stated objectives concern coverage of underserved areas, resilience of public networks, protection of critical communications and support for the development of a European constellation.
The four groups claim large customer bases: 340 million customers in 26 countries for Orange (including MasOrange) at end 2025, over 273 million mobile customers for Deutsche Telekom, over 299.8 million customers for Telefónica and approximately 370 million mobile and broadband customers for Vodafone.
