In light of the challenge posed by US rival Starlink, new Eutelsat CEO Jean-François Fallacher is calling for German participation in his company.
“We would be absolutely open,” Fallacher said in an interview with German news magazine Der Spiegel. “We would be happy to hold such talks.”
Paris-based Eutelsat operates the OneWeb satellite system, currently the only European network of communications satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO). Globally, the satellite network Starlink, owned by US billionaire Elon Musk, dominates the market. “We want to make OneWeb the independent European alternative to Starlink,” said Fallacher.
At present, the heavily indebted Eutelsat group is seeking fresh capital from its shareholders, including its main shareholder France. “France has contributed a lot of capital, but Eutelsat will not become a French company,” the manager said. The aim is to attract other states as shareholders.
Fallacher, who took over the leadership of the group in June 2025, is calling for a change in thinking within the industry: “The European space industry needs to understand that it is being challenged by players who play by different rules,” the French manager said. Given the challenge from rivals such as Starlink, greater agility is required. “We need to take more risks, we need to act faster. We need to change our mindset, our culture – that may be the hardest part.”
OneWeb is smaller and less powerful than Starlink. To change this, aerospace company Airbus Defence and Space is initially set to deliver a further 100 satellites. However, to modernise the constellation, about 400 satellites would be needed over the next three years, Airbus Defence chief Michael Schöllhorn told the magazine.
The manager was cautious about the EU’s planned satellite project Iris2, which is scheduled to be operational around 2030. “Iris2 is a flagship project,” said Schöllhorn. “But relying solely on that is something Europe cannot afford in the current geopolitical situation.” The approach, he said, must be to start with what is already available – for example, the OneWeb constellation – and then create a smooth transition to Iris2.
