After two rounds of rejection, the European Union can officially move forward with plans to construct a low-earth orbit (LEO) satellite internet system that will compete with the likes of Amazon’s Project Kuiper and SpaceX’s Starlink. Although the European Commission’s Regulatory Scrutiny Board turned down the proposal twice before on the grounds that the project would “waste money and compete with commercial services” according to The Irish Times, the group eventually green-lit the idea following a number of fiscal compromises while also admitting the system would be important for the EU’s “strategic and technical sovereignty.”
While the satellite system’s cost remains around €6 billion (roughly $6.8 billion USD), much of the overall budget will be derived from a private-public partnership of member states and small businesses, and be built and run by a “consortium” following a bidding period. Although the project still needs to be voted on by EU members and the European Parliament, it is still expected to be approved, despite some remaining reservations.
