A scale model of an Airbus OneWeb satellite and its solar panel are pictured as Airbus announces annual results in Blagnac, near Toulouse, France February 14 2019. Picture: REUTERS/ REGIS DUVIGNAUFounded by a US entrepreneur and headquartered in London, it has partnered with Google and Elon Musk, supplied Arianespace, attracted investment from Hughes Network Systems and SoftBank and fallen into bankruptcy. It was then rescued by the UK government and India’s Bharti Global.
But given Eutelsat itself risked being left on the launch pad by rivals, it also makes strategic sense. Musk, meanwhile, anticipates annual revenue of $50bn on his lower-orbit Starlink venture, which is causing angst in Europe as its rollout picks up speed. Investment in European space start-ups hit €610m in 2021, a fraction of the $5bn invested in US companies in 2020, according to a report by think-tank Ifri.
But it also brings the opportunity of tapping into more demand for their faster speeds and higher power in sectors like telecommunications. In a wartime economy, it promises to bring more expertise in data and cybersecurity, as well as a bigger role for Europe in space, something dear to FrenchNo doubt it might have been cleaner and easier for shareholders to imagine a takeover by Altice billionaire Patrick Drahi, whose €2.