European satellite operator SES reportedly expanded talks with the European Union (EU) and various governments over plans to complement services offered by Starlink, as the bloc seeks to reduce reliance on foreign satellite networks.

The EU first approached operators including SES and Eutelsat in March following rising tensions with the US, and the former’s CEO Adel Al-Saleh told Reuters today (30 April) these initial discussions have moved beyond short-term plans to mid- and long-term cooperation models.

“And what we’re seeing is all of the European governments are serious about increasing their defence spending,” he explained. “There are alternatives, not to completely replace Starlink, that’s not possible, but to augment and complement Starlink.”

Last month, concerns in particular were raised over a deal between Starlink and Ukraine, which is intended to provide the country with satellite services from the Elon Musk company.

Reuters reported the EU was racing to find an alternative to Starlink, due to question marks about European- US relations and Musk’s ties to President Donald Trump.

Competition
The EU’s search for alternatives comes as competition in the low Earth orbit satellite space intensifies, with players including Starlink, Amazon’s Project Kuiper and China’s SpaceSail rolling out large-scale constellations.

However, Al-Saleh told the publication that global network resilience goes beyond a need for strengthening domestic satellite capabilities, highlighting the pitfalls of reliance on any single player. “It is not right to say they just want to avoid Starlink or the Chinese. They want to avoid being dependent on one or two providers. They want to have flexibility.”

The Luxembourg-based company announced a $3.1 billion deal last year to acquire rival Intelsat, a move aimed at combining resources to boost competitiveness in the space industry.

SES operates a fleet of around 70 satellites across multiple orbits, with more than 20 in medium Earth orbit (MEO) and plans to scale the number to 100. Its MEO satellites are positioned roughly 8,000km above Earth, offering faster data transfer than traditional systems and supporting both government and consumer connectivity.