starlink: French court annuls licence granted to Starlink

France’s highest administrative courtroom on Tuesday revoked a choice to grant two frequency bands to Elon Musk’s satellite tv for pc web firm Starlink, saying the nation’s telecoms regulator had made authorized misjudgements.

France’s Arcep regulator in February 2021 granted Starlink the correct to function on two radio frequencies on the French territory to supply individuals with web entry.

The Conseil d’Etat courtroom on Tuesday stated it had revoked the licences after two activist teams appealed Arcep’s resolution.

Starlink couldn’t instantly be reached for remark.

The choice to grant the licences to Starlink “might influence the market of entry to high-bandwith web and have an effect on the pursuits of finish customers,” the Conseil d’Etat stated.

Subsequently, it might have been required by the legislation to hold out public hearings earlier than granting the licences, a step which the regulator omitted.

Whereas costly to deploy, satellite tv for pc know-how can present web for individuals who dwell in rural or hard-to-serve locations the place fiber optic cables and cell towers don’t attain.

The know-how may also be a essential backstop when hurricanes or different pure disasters disrupt communication.