The E.U. comm giant plans to build an alternative to Elon Musk’s Starlink constellation.

Europe has taken a decisive step toward asserting its technological sovereignty in space and satellite communications, as the French government becomes the largest shareholder in Eutelsat, a key player in the continent’s ambitions to challenge Elon Musk’s Starlink.

In a €1.35 billion capital increase announced last week, Eutelsat revealed it would raise fresh funds to support its long-term strategic vision, including the expansion of its OneWeb low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite constellation.

The move is anchored by strong support from the French state and key institutional shareholders, such as Bpifrance and Banque des Territoires, with France now poised to double its stake to more than 26%.

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This bold intervention by Paris underscores growing concerns in Europe about overreliance on U.S.-based technologies in critical infrastructure, particularly following geopolitical shifts and transatlantic tensions in recent years.

The investment reflects a broader European aim: to regain control over its space destiny and communications networks by building its own secure and sovereign alternative to Starlink, which dominates the LEO satellite broadband sector globally.

Eutelsat, which merged with the U.K.-based OneWeb in 2023, is Europe’s flagship in the LEO race. Unlike traditional geostationary satellites, LEO networks enable faster, more reliable broadband with global reach — critical for both civilian use and defense capabilities.

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The company plans to use the fresh funds to accelerate OneWeb’s deployment and bolster its commercial offerings, particularly in underserved and remote regions.

The capital raise, partially underwritten by European sovereign entities, is also designed to provide Eutelsat with the resources needed to scale its constellation, improve global coverage, and integrate critical services across the continent.

The move also reflects a shift in European strategy: betting on industrial champions capable of securing both economic and strategic interests. The capital raise, partially underwritten by European sovereign entities, is designed to provide Eutelsat with the resources needed to scale its constellation, improve global coverage, and integrate critical services across the continent.

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The push for a European Starlink reflects wider anxieties about digital autonomy, especially as countries confront growing cyber threats, rising tensions over data sovereignty, and the weaponization of space technologies.

While the U.S. remains a key ally in many areas, European leaders have grown increasingly vocal about the need for independence in space policy, especially after setbacks in joint programs and increasing dominance of American private players like SpaceX.

It’s not clear, however, how many satellites is Eutelsat going to build and launch onto Earth’s low orbit in order to achieve the goal or when.