news hardware Has the Starlink threat really gone in France?
Starlink, the internet connection created by billionaire Elon Musk, has been under threat in France since April after it stopped operating two radio frequency bands currently used by the American company for its French customers.
Has the Starlink threat really gone in France? On April 5, 2022, the St ate Council has revoked Arcep’s authorization to use two radio frequency bands on Starlink
A project started too quickly
François Lafforgue, lawyer for the two environmental groups Priartem and Agir pour l’environnement filed a complaint with the State Council to prohibit the service, which had to judge the latter started too fast. The granting of these permits could have a significant impact on the environment and the market for high-speed Internet access, as well as on end-users.
The High Authority criticized Arcep for not having carried out a public consultation before granting these precious authorizations according to Article L.32-1 V of the Law on Posts and Electronic Communications (CPCE), which provides for the holding of a prior public consultation:
If … the Minister responsible for Electronic Communications and the Regulatory Authority for Electronic Communications, Post and Press Circulation consider taking measures which have a significant impact on a market or affect the interests of end-users, they shall publish the intended measures within a reasonable time before their adoption and collect the observations made on them. The result of these consultations will be made public, subject to confidentiality protected by law. The Authority shall set up a service to provide information on the consultations provided for in the previous paragraph.
Arcep therefore had to withdraw these permits and urgently proceeded with the lack of public consultation in early May.
Starlink has mobilized its customers
The Starlink company hadn’t interrupted the service and had asked its approximately 4,000 customers to take part in this public consultation. The email sent to his customers read:
If you would like to help Starlink provide services to French citizens, please send an email explaining how important Starlink is to you… In your comments you may want to highlight… why Starlink is important to you and how you use the Service and whether or not you previously had access to a broadband connection before Starlink became available…if Starlink is no longer available to you, if you will no longer have access to a broadband connection.
These 30 days of consultation made it possible for Arcep received a little over 2000 replies among Starlink customers and industry players.
Given the contributions received Arcep has decided to grant Starlink a radio spectrum licensefor a publicly accessible network Provision of fixed Internet access via satellite.
Starlink is an innovative satellite internet service that works through a constellation of satellites. The project was initiated by Elon Musk in 2015 and has recently been up and running. It guarantees a stable and fast connection for everyone, regardless of your geographic location. Mainly intended for the forgotten fiber and aims to narrow the digital divide on a large scale. You can read our Starlink review by clicking here.