Arcep (regulator for electronic communications, postal services and press distribution) has just give the green light so that SpaceX can deploy its Starlink Internet networking offering in France. After the USA and Canada, the first offers on French territory will therefore be available within a few months.
Starlink lands in France
On Thursday, February 18, Arcep took the floor to speak on SpaceX’s Starlink network. According to the telecommunications authority: “SpaceX is now authorized to set up radio frequencies for its Starlink service. This means that in France Starlink can offer an Internet service via satellite. “. The 800 Starlink satellites SpaceX can test its first offers in orbit around the earth.
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Right now, Elon Musk is keeping his word: recorded latencies correspond perfectly to what the boss of SpaceX announced at the beginning of the experiment. Starlink’s Internet network gives people in rural areas a high quality Internet connection. In France, Arcep has just authorized Starlink to operate frequencies that are connected to gateway stations Frequencies at which satellites can connect to the terrestrial network.
Arcep has only one condition: the establishment of ground stations So that the Starlink network works. This is an essential requirement for the network to function. Starlink must therefore also use ground stations in France. The company also needs to get other permits to install its infrastructure, and this time it’s not Arcep’s responsibility. For now, Starlink has received approval to set up three floor bases in Gravelines, Villenave d’Ornon and Saint-Senier de Beuvron.
The first land stations for France very soon?
This is probably not to everyone’s taste … The village of Saint-Senier-de Beuvron in Manche, is against the project. The mayor of the village, Benoît Hamard, said the Parisian when : “These relay antennas actually look like nine parabolic spheres with a diameter of 2.30 m, which are placed on 5 m² concrete plinths. We are against this project and intend to force SpaceX to apply for a building permit. “. A fight reminiscent of the fight against 5G, especially in Bordeaux.
However, according to Starlink, this is just the beginning. Elon Musk plans to deploy 30,000 satellites all over the world. According to a SpaceX spokesperson: “The demand for a fast and reliable internet connection continues to grow worldwide. With Starlink we want to connect the most remote parts of the world. We want to responsibly increase the density of global data in order to meet the requirements of today’s companies. “.
