For about a year, Germany has been paying for Ukraineʼs access to the satellite Internet network, which is operated by the French company Eutelsat.
Reuters reports this.
This was confirmed by Eutelsat CEO Eva Berneke, speaking at the companyʼs headquarters in Paris on April 4. She did not specify the cost of the services.
According to Berneke, there are almost a thousand terminals in Ukraine connecting users to the Eutelsat network. Within a few weeks, their number may increase by another 5-10 thousand. There are currently about 50 thousand Starlink terminals in the country.
Asked whether Berlin would finance the additional support, Eutelsat spokeswoman Joanna Darlington said the move was still under discussion. The company stressed that negotiations with EU partners regarding Ukraine were active. Eutelsat is part of a consortium developing a long-term satellite project for Ukraine, IRIS².
Eutelsat satellites are farther from Earth and provide lower connection speeds. Berneke says the network uses relatively cheap terminals that could be a worthy alternative to Starlink for Ukraine.
- In March, the Financial Times wrote that European allies are "rushing" to provide Kyiv with alternatives to the Starlink satellite network.
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