If you are already a Starlink subscriber in France, this is very bad news. The Council of State has in fact canceled the license for the use of hertzian frequencies by the Internet network. In question, a procedural error by the Regulatory Authority for Electronic Communications, Posts and Press Distribution (Arcep) when it gave its consent to the SpaceX subsidiary.
A decision that is not related to SpaceX
Last February, the Authority thus accepted that the Starlink network operates two frequency channels in France. While user terminals got bands 10.95-12.70 GHz (space-to-Earth) and 14-14.5 GHz (Earth-to-space), terrestrial gateways got access to bands 17.8-19.3 GHz (space-to-Earth) and 27.5 to 30 GHz (Earth-to-space).
Epic Games officially launches Unreal Engine 5
However, this decision was revoked by the Council of State, the highest administrative court in France, this Tuesday, April 5. He believes that a public consultation should have been organized by Arcep before it granted the frequencies to Elon Musk’s company, because this is ” likely to have a significant impact on the market for the provision of high-speed Internet access, and to affect users “. This is standard procedure for this type of request.
If the Council of State examined the file, it is because two environmental associations, Priartem and Agir pour l’environnement, lodged an appeal following the decision of Arcep which they considered as a ” excess of power of this decision “.
Starlink in France, it’s complicated…
This is not the first time that SpaceX’s satellite Internet network has encountered difficulties in France, where it has been available for pre-order since May 2021. As recalled The Digital Factory, two projects to set up terrestrial antennas, at Gravelines in the North and at Saint-Senier-de-Beuvron in the Manche, were abandoned last January. Of the three branches that were to be set up in France, only one is therefore present; it is located in Villenave-d’Ornon, in Gironde. These antennas are essential so that users can access the Starlink network.
I know several digital entrepreneurs, including me, who depend on this solution. Without it and without fiber we will find ourselves in a quasi-white zone. How can such a decision be taken by the Council of State without measuring its economic impact?
— Michel Levy Provençal (@mikiane) April 5, 2022
Arcep’s decision sounds like bad news for the French who have already subscribed to the SpaceX service. In a tweet, entrepreneur Michel Levy Provençal expressed his disappointment: ” I know several digital entrepreneurs, including me, who depend on this solution. Without it and without fiber we will find ourselves in a quasi-white zone. How can such a decision be taken by the Council of State without measuring its economic impact? “.
For the time being, SpaceX has not reacted and we do not know what will happen to people who subscribe to the service. As a reminder, Elon Musk’s ambition with Starlink is to bring a high-speed Internet network to the most remote regions of the world thanks to a constellation of thousands of satellites in low Earth orbit.
In addition to the antennas installed by the firm, users must also purchase a dish worth 634 euros in addition to a monthly subscription of 99 euros.