Europe ramps up direct-to-device push amid SpaceX’s $19 billion service boost

TAMPA, Fla. — Europe has kicked off a study to improve direct-to-device (D2D) services using satellite spectrum, just as SpaceX inks a $19 billion deal for space-approved frequencies to expand its own 5G services.

Thales Alenia Space announced Sept. 8 it is leading a 55 million euro ($65 million) project called U DESERVE 5G, aiming to test connectivity compliant with terrestrial 3GPP mobile standards from low Earth orbit (LEO) by early 2028.

The project is supported with 38 million euros from France’s CNES space agency, said Stéphane Anjuere, 5G venture leader at Thales Alenia Space.

The payload would feature an active antenna designed to enable voice calls and data services directly with a standard mobile device, without routing via a ground station.

Unlike other Europe-backed D2D initiatives, Anjuere said the project will focus on integrating with terrestrial networks to support fuller 5G services, not just basic text and emergency alerts like Apple currently offers via U.S.-based Globalstar’s spectrum.

“Today, many of the D2D projects announced are either non-3GPP or delivering lower performance,” Anjuere told SpaceNews.

“This program in LEO orbit should be more representative of the real use cases the [satellite operators] intend to monetize moving forward.”

Other members of the U DESERVE 5G consortium include:

• Capgemini: radio access and 4G/5G core networks
• Thales: feasibility of a 5G D2D terminal with a directional antenna in C-band
• Orange: operator expertise and hosting the demo at its Bercenay site in France
• SES: studying implementation of D2D services
• Qualcomm: providing a 5G NTN-compatible test terminal
• Loft Orbital: satellite platform, integration, launch reservation and operations

Merging paths

The fledgling D2D market is split between operators like Globalstar that use satellite spectrum and those relying on cellular frequencies through partnerships with terrestrial carriers, though those two paths are converging. 

After already partnering with telcos such as T-Mobile in the United States, SpaceX’s Sept. 8 deal for EchoStar’s S-band spectrum marks a major escalation in its push to dominate D2D.

Gwynne Shotwell, president and chief operating officer of SpaceX, said the newly acquired frequencies will support next-generation satellites that “will have a step change in performance and enable us to enhance coverage for customers wherever they are in the world.”

In addition to text-based messaging, SpaceX recently said its D2D service now supports data-rich applications such as Google Maps, X and WhatsApp on some devices.

The EchoStar spectrum “will dramatically change the throughput capacity” of the service, said Adam Rhodes, a senior telecom analyst at Octus.

Starlink’s current U.S. service utilizes just 10 megahertz of similarly situated spectrum, Rhodes noted, while the 50 MHz EchoStar licenses represent “5x the bandwidth of the T-Mobile licenses, with the added benefit of blocks that are contiguous with the T-Mobile spectrum.”

Given FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr’s push to put spectrum assets to use as quickly as possible, he said SpaceX is likely to gain access to the EchoStar licenses before their planned late-2027 closing. 

While the companies have not disclosed a timeline, EchoStar may be offering SpaceX an option to lease the spectrum in advance, similar to a recent arrangement to sell terrestrial frequencies to AT&T, which analysts previously expected would clear the way for its D2D own constellation.

SpaceX’s Texas-based D2D rival AST SpaceMobile, which plans to use AT&T and Verizon frequencies in the U.S., struck a deal in June to add satellite spectrum to strengthen its upcoming service.

Competing with SpaceX

Just weeks before the spectrum sale, EchoStar had placed a $1.3 billion order with Canada’s MDA Space to use the frequencies for the first 100 satellites of a planned $5 billion D2D constellation. 

On a Sept. 8 call with analysts, MDA CEO Mike Greenley said the sudden loss of that manufacturing contract underscores how quickly the D2D landscape is shifting.

However, he said it does not alter MDA’s 13 billion Canadian dollar ($9.4 billion) pipeline of potential constellation manufacturing work, which is roughly split between conventional broadband and D2D projects. 

He predicted multiple space-based D2D networks will ultimately emerge to take on SpaceX, noting Apple’s push to ensure iPhone compatibility across different providers, even as MDA continues to build upgraded Globalstar satellites.

The EchoStar order last month had caused a “giddy-up kind of a feeling in the market,” Greenley said, pushing would-be rivals to accelerate their own plans.

“I personally would expect that if now SpaceX has that spectrum, and they’re going to get on with building that same network that EchoStar was going to build, it at least equally — if not further — adds to the giddy-up feeling for those in the market,” he continued.

Shifting geopolitical winds have already led to heightened activity among countries and companies outside the United States to boost their technological sovereignty.

“We’ve seen that same effect in space-based communications, for sure, as nations and regions and corporations outside the United States wanted to make sure that they can take care of themselves a little bit more,” Greenley said on the call.

“That sentiment is already in play, but this [SpaceX D2D development] might add a little bit more fuel to that fire,” he added.

Europe’s U DESERVE 5G reflects that drive, aiming to ensure the region is not left dependent on U.S. players as D2D becomes a cornerstone of global mobile connectivity.