Bad news for society SpaceXwhich markets its Internet access via Starlink satellite in France for nearly a year. The Council of State has just canceled its authorization to use two frequency bands radio awarded by Arcep (Regulatory authority for electronic communications and postal services).
The decision was taken following a complaint from environmental associations Priartem and Act for the environment. They are concerned about terrestrial pollution linked to the manufacture of satellites and the powering of satellite dishes, as well as pollution in space, both visual and that caused by debris from satellites after their end of life.
An administrative and non-environmental decision
However, the decision of the Council of State was not taken on ecological criteria. It is based on the fact that Arcep did not proceed to ” a public consultation before granting access to frequencies. The Council of State considers that this decision was ” likely to have a impact important in the market for the provision of high-speed Internet access, and to affect users “.
On February 9, 2021, the regulatory authority authorized the subsidiary star link Internet Services Limited to use the 10.95-12.70 GHz and 14-14.5 GHz frequency bands for communications with customer antennas. Without these frequencies, the service will no longer be able to operate in France. Current customers, who had to pay 701 euros for the equipment and the installation, risk finding themselves without a connection, and without necessarily an alternative. The company has yet to comment on the decision.
Starlink is authorized to settle in France and has to face a village of irreducible Gauls
SpaceX received clearance to launch star link, its satellite Internet service, in France. The company chaired by Elon Musk is, however, faced with the resistance from a village selected as a base station.
Article ofEdward Backpublished on 02/19/2021
” A region victoriously resists the invader. Here is a news item that is reminiscent of the Asterix comics. The Starlink project of the American company SpaceX just got the Arcep agreement (Regulation Authority for Electronic Communications, Posts and Distribution) to market its satellite Internet subscriptions in France, but a village refused it outright.
Starlink is the Internet access service very high speed created by Elon Musk that works thanks to a constellation of satellitesof which a thousand have already been orbit. The system needs base stations, which connect the satellites to the global network. SpaceX, which operates under the Tibro name in many countries, has received authorization to build three base stations in France that will use the 18 and 28 gigahertz frequency bands. However, the village of Saint-Senier-de-Beuvron, one of the selected sites, refused the construction.
Building permit refused
Benoît Hamard, the mayor of the village, describes the installation as ” nine parabolic balls of 2.30 m in diameter placed on bases of 5 m² of concrete ! “. The project measuring more than 20 m², the city council forced the company to file a building permit, which was unanimously refused. SpaceX hasn’t reacted to it yet.
Elon Musk plans to gradually launch his service globally. The first customers have already been able to connect to it in the United States by installing a satellite dish at home. The subscription is offered at 99 dollars per month, with a speed of 50 to 150 megabits per second and a latency of 20 to 40 milliseconds, with the objective of lowering the latter to between 16 and 19 milliseconds by this summer. SpaceX may however have to review its copy for France. The services already present are certainly slower, with up to 50 megabits per second, but they are also much cheaper. The price of subscriptions varies from 30 to 60 euros per month.
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