Exclusive-Germany funds Eutelsat internet in Ukraine as Musk tensions rise

PARIS (Reuters) - Berlin has been paying for Ukraine's access to a satellite-internet network operated by France's Eutelsat, as Europe seeks alternatives to Elon Musk's Starlink.

Eutelsat's chief executive Eva Berneke told Reuters the company has provided its high-speed satellite internet service to Ukraine for about a year via a German distributor.

Speaking at the company's headquarters in Paris on Thursday, she said it was funded by the German government, but declined to comment on the cost. 

Berneke said there were fewer than a thousand terminals connecting users in Ukraine to Eutelsat's network, which is a small fraction of the roughly 50,000 Starlink terminals Ukraine says it has, but she said she expected the figure would rise.

"Now we're looking to get between 5,000 and 10,000 there relatively fast," she said, adding it could be "within weeks". 

Asked whether Germany would also fund that additional provision, Eutelsat spokesperson Joanna Darlington said the issue was under discussion.

"We don't know yet how the EU collectively or country by country will fund efforts going forward," Darlington said.

Germany's foreign ministry did not respond to requests for comment.

STARLINK RELIANCE WORRIES EUROPE

U.S. President Donald Trump's more hostile approach to Ukraine since his return to the White House has sparked concern in Europe about reliance on Starlink.

It is part of rocket company SpaceX, owned by tech billionaire Musk who is close to Trump. Starlink provides crucial internet connectivity to Ukraine and its military in the war against Russia.

Eutelsat's OneWeb division is Starlink's main rival in providing high-speed internet satellite via low-Earth orbit satellites.

These sit at lower altitudes than traditional satellites, allowing them to transmit data extremely efficiently, providing high-speed internet for remote communities, seafaring vessels and militaries.

Eutelsat previously said it was engaged in discussions with the European Union about supplying additional internet access to Ukraine.

On Thursday, Berneke said talks with Brussels regarding Ukraine were active, and that they were principally taking place within an EU-backed consortium Eutelsat belongs to that is working on a long-term satellite project known as IRIS².

She said Eutelsat has capacity it could offer Ukraine via its network of geostationary satellites, which sit further away from earth and typically offer slower connectivity speeds. She said that network uses terminals that are relatively low cost and is good for consumer use or for having as an alternative.

"When you're in a situation as you see in Ukraine today, you want to have all your options open," she said. As long as Starlink works in the country, it doesn't "make sense to choose not to use it," she said.

However, it makes sense to have a plan B "especially when you've had these kinds of situations where it got a little bit tense around whether that was going to be still an option, you'd want to have alternatives."

About half of the 50,000 Starlink terminals Ukraine says it has received were supplied by the Polish government, which says that since 2022 it has spent about $84 million on Starlink terminals and service. The U.S. government and SpaceX have also provided Starlink access to Ukraine.

Last month, the European Commission said in a white paper that the European Union should fund Ukraine's access to space services that can be provided by EU-based commercial providers.

The European Commission's defence chief Andrius Kubilius met with Poland's defence minister while in Warsaw this week. 

Asked by Reuters during a news conference Wednesday about the status of discussions on Starlink alternatives in Ukraine, Kubilius said there are solutions that will be implemented in the event of "unexpected developments," but declined to elaborate. 

Europe needs to develop its own capabilities "in a rapid and urgent way," Kubilius added.

He noted that there are two European efforts underway. One known as GOVSATCOM that brings together national satellites should be ready from the middle of this year, he said. The other is the EU-backed IRIS² project, which is a public-private partnership that is not due to be operational until around 2030.

(Additional reporting by Riham Alkousaa in Berlin; editing by Barbara Lewis)