Elon Musk’s Starlink loses frequencies in France

This long-exposure image shows a trail of a group of SpaceX’s Starlink satellites passing over Uruguay as seen from the countryside some 185km north of Montevideo near Capilla del Sauce, Florida Department. Kerckhove said the 12,000 Starlink satellites are a nuisance for those who like to gaze upon the stars. — AFP

PARIS: Starlink, the satellite Internet service of tech billionaire Elon Musk, has lost its frequencies in France after a legal battle waged by environmental groups.

In a ruling published on April 5, the State Council, France’s supreme court for administrative justice, quashed a February 2021 decision by the Arcep telecoms regulators granting Starlink two bands of frequencies to link the satellites with French clients.

The court criticised Arcep for not having consulted the public before greenlighting the project even though it was likely to have an important impact on the high-speed Internet market as well affect users.

“The State Council sent a signal to those who confuse speed with haste,” Stephen Kerckhove, head of Act for the Environment, one of the two groups behind the legal action.

Starlink could not be immediately reached for comment on the ruling.

Kerckhove said he hoped Arcep would not now just go through the motions of holding a public consultation but “truly carry out an economic and environmental evaluation” of Starlink.

Starlink offers high-speed Internet service to customers in areas that are poorly or not served by fixed-line or mobile telecoms operators via a constellation of satellites in low earth orbit.

Kerckhove said the 12,000 Starlink satellites are a nuisance for those who like to gaze upon the stars. – AFP