Amid talk of a possible Starlink shutdown in Ukraine and the search for alternatives, shares of Franco-British satellite group Eutelsat have more than tripled, adding more than €1 billion to its market capitalization.
Amid talk of a possible Starlink shutdown in Ukraine and the search for alternatives, shares of Franco-British satellite group Eutelsat have more than tripled, adding more than €1 billion to its market capitalization.
The stock surge came on Friday after a tense conversation between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and US President Donald Trump that cast doubt on the future of Starlink in Ukraine.
Although billionaire Elon Musk denied reports that Ukraine may disable access to the Starlink satellite internet used by the Armed Forces, Kyiv and the EU have begun considering alternatives to the American service .
«We are exchanging views with the EU on how we can help strengthen Ukraine’s efforts,» a Eutelsat representative said in comments to Reuters, adding that the company also has geostationary satellite capacity suitable for some applications in Ukraine.
It was previously reported that the European Commission is studying options for assistance if the Starlink satellite internet network stops operating in Ukraine. In particular, the use of the Govsatcom network is being considered.
Eutelsat operates 35 geostationary satellites and has expanded its network of low-earth orbit satellites to 600 satellites after acquiring Britain’s OneWeb in 2023. OneWeb’s low-earth orbit satellites are the same as Space X’s Starlink, whose constellation of about 7,000 satellites provides internet access in 125 countries.
Eutelsat claims that for users in Europe it offers the same capabilities as Starlink in terms of coverage and latency.
«We are actively working with European institutions and business partners to ensure the rapid deployment of additional subscriber terminals for mission-critical and infrastructure facilities,» the company added.
Eutelsat emphasized its commitment to strengthening European satellite autonomy and ensuring Internet access in Ukraine.
UPD. Eutelsat CEO Eva Berneke said that the company can deploy 40,000 terminals in Ukraine in a couple of months, but needs financial and logistical support for rapid expansion.
She told Bloomberg in an interview. «Today, everyone is asking us, ‘Can you replace a large number of Starlink terminals in Ukraine,’ and we are considering this possibility,» Berneke said.
Eutelsat is already operating in Ukraine and has thousands of terminals, she said, but not all of them are connected to the network. The company is in talks to supply both military and standard terminals, and it will take «several months» to secure 40,000 terminals. That’s about the number of Starlink terminals used in Ukraine.
Recall that earlier, cyber expert Konstantin Korsun analyzed what alternatives exist in the world if Elon Musk’s Starlink suddenly becomes unavailable to the Ukrainian military. He named 4 options from the British, French, Swedish, and Ukrainians .
