Ukraine desperately needs new satellite internet service, but there is still no fast and reliable alternative to Elon Musk’s Starlink network. The sudden slowdown of service in Ukraine last week, which affected kyiv’s ability to defend itself from Russian attacks, has shown how vulnerable the country can be and greatly increased Europe’s urgency to have its own military-grade satellite network. There are some alternatives, but they are all lagging behind Starlink, which is the largest satellite in the world. constellation. The French Eutelsat, with its OneWeb Internet service, is the main alternative, but it only has about 600 active satellites, compared to more than 10,000 for Starlink. The EU is working on a new network to rival Starlink, Iris², but it won’t be operational until 2029. For Ukrainian troops on the ground, several of whom spoke anonymously to the BBC, reliable connectivity is the difference between life and death. to remove it completely would be an absolute catastrophe,” said one. “I don’t give a damn how much an alternative costs when our lives are at stake.” For now, the best option for Ukraine is to join Govsatcom, the EU’s satellite sharing network, but it can’t be used for military warfare like drone control. That vulnerability was highlighted by Musk himself on Saturday when he accused Ukraine of violating Starlink’s terms of service by using it for “drone attacks to kill people. “Those terms will result in the end of the service.” He added: “If Starlink were disconnected, the Ukrainian front line would collapse immediately.”
