Orange Ditches European Unity and bets on Canadian Telesat for Satellite Connectivity
In an inspiring display of corporate independence (or perhaps just opportunism), Orange has decided that Europe’s own satellite projects aren’t enough. Instead, the French telco giant is teaming up with Canada’s Telesat to launch satellite connectivity services, quietly sidelining Europe’s own contenders, Eutelsat OneWeb and the EU-backed IRIS² project.
The deal, announced this week, will see a Telesat Lightspeed gateway hosted at Orange’s teleport in Bercenay-en-Othe, France. Orange has also committed to buying LEO satellite capacity from Telesat, integrating it into its portfolio of telecom solutions. This means businesses and telecom operators looking for satellite backhaul, remote connectivity, or crisis response services might find Telesat (via Orange) competing with European alternatives like Eutelsat-OneWeb.
What’s the Problem?
Well, for starters, Eutelsat just finished merging with OneWeb, aiming to establish a European alternative to Starlink. It desperately needs major telco partners to scale its LEO business, and Orange, one of the biggest players in Europe, just walked into the arms of a Canadian competitor instead. That’s not exactly the “European solidarity” Brussels was hoping for.
Then there’s IRIS², the European Commission’s multi-billion-euro satellite program designed to create a sovereign, secure communications network. Its success depends on European companies actually using it. But with Orange-Telesat now rolling out a competing service, IRIS² might find itself playing catch-up before it even launches.
A Battle for Government Contracts?
Orange’s press release keeps mentioning mobile backhaul, crisis response, and remote connectivity. Translation: this partnership is targeting government and defense customers. That’s the exact market Eutelsat-OneWeb and IRIS² are after.
So, instead of a united European satellite strategy, we now have a fractured battlefield:
Eutelsat-OneWeb: Wants to be Europe’s answer to Starlink.
IRIS²: The EU’s sovereign satellite system (still vaporware, for now).
Orange-Telesat: A Franco-Canadian wildcard disrupting both.
What’s Next?
This deal raises real questions about Europe’s ability to coordinate a unified satellite strategy. If every major telecom company starts making side deals with non-European operators, IRIS² could become an expensive bureaucratic relic before it even launches.
Meanwhile, Eutelsat-OneWeb just lost a critical telco partner, making it harder to challenge Starlink and Amazon’s Kuiper.
So, congratulations, Orange. You’ve just made sure that Europe’s satellite industry remains as fragmented and dysfunctional as ever, all in the name of “expanding connectivity.”
Bravo.
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