Germany is paying for extra satellite coverage over Ukraine by securing capacity on Eutelsat. Reportedly, this has been going on quietly behind the scenes for almost a year, designed to secure extra bandwidth for Ukraine’s military as an alternate to Elon Musk’s Starlink system.According to a Reuters report, Eutelsat’s CEO, Eva Berneke, revealed that the German government is financing the project, which currently operates fewer than 1,000 satellite teleport sites in Ukraine compared to the approximately 50,000 Starlink terminals provided by Musk’s SpaceX. Berneke has expressed optimism about scaling up Eutelsat’s presence in Ukraine, stating, “We aim to achieve between 5,000 to 10,000 sites with reasonable speed,” with expectations that this could happen “within weeks”.“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 added.The financial commitment made by the German government has not been disclosed. Poland has also supported Ukraine with Starlink terminals. The European Union is also reported to have been having “active” discussions about further financial help. Eutelsat spokesperson Joanna Darlington said the issue was under discussion, noting: “We don’t know yet how the EU collectively or country by country will fund efforts going forward”.Eutelsat’s OneWeb technology competes directly with Starlink by providing low-orbit satellites that connect to ground stations for extremely high-speed internet and this is essential in remote areas.Andrius Kubilius, a European Parliament minister, is on record saying that there needs to be alternatives to Starlink, especially as relations between the US and Ukraine face uncertainty. He stated that the EU is prepared for unexpected developments and is exploring solutions to ensure continued Internet access for Ukraine.
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