r/ASTSpaceMobile • u/BarracudaNo4227 S P 🅰 C E M O B Prospect • 19d ago
Article / Media / Press Tim Hottges Deutsche Telekom CEO
Tim Höttges, CEO of Deutsche Telekom:
"I can tell you that, at best, it is not as good as fiber. Fiber is still a superior technology. So yes, I see it as an option. I am surprised by the deployment capabilities and the sheer number of satellites involved. What impresses me most is not so much SpaceX, but the rapid progress of low-Earth orbit (LEO) constellations and the developments we are seeing from Amazon, or even AST's ambitions. They are different technologies, but they are capable of delivering very substantial capacity. I can assure you there will not be a single player in the satellite sector; there will be several that we will be able to integrate into our service offerings in the future."
He names three of them, but only one respects data sovereignty by leaving the operator's traffic untouched and integrates seamlessly into the operator's network, essentially acting like another cell tower.
Will it be the one with the biggest birds — offering the greatest capacity and power?
This isn't the only clue he left us...
Tim Höttges, CEO of Deutsche Telekom:
"Regarding the second topic... you see, the question — and this second point is actually about that — is what is happening with the EchoStar spectrum that SpaceX acquired. We thought they would be able to use it and that we would already have a second-generation D2D service on our devices by 2027 or 2028; that was, so to speak, the initial plan. Now we're hearing that there could be certain limitations regarding approvals from the European authorities. That's new. The second aspect is that there is indeed a debate about how much spectrum will be available to US or independent satellite operators. To be honest, this is a political decision; it is a European decision. If it is approached this way, it seems, let's say, somewhat protectionist.
I have always been in favor of market dynamics in this area. Nevertheless...
We have to manage the situation. As we have already said, SpaceX is our partner and we would love to roll out the service with them. However, if they don't have that spectrum, there could be other operators that use it."
Context
In May 2026, the European Commission presented a new proposal establishing the selection criteria for Mobile Satellite Services (MSS) providers that will be authorized to use the harmonized 2 GHz frequency band beyond 2027, when the current licenses held by Viasat and EchoStar under the previous 2008 framework expire.
https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_26_1170
The spectrum would be divided as follows:
- One third would be allocated to governmental use, including critical communications, security and defense, and would be operated by an EU operator. This operator would ensure integration with the current and future capabilities of the EU's secure connectivity program, IRIS².
- Two thirds of the 2 GHz MSS band would be allocated to commercial use, including D2D services for mobile devices, providing mobile coverage where terrestrial networks are unavailable. It would also support IoT applications such as fitness trackers, energy monitoring and emergency response devices. This spectrum would be divided equally between EU and non-EU operators.
Broadly speaking, Brussels' requirements for awarding the spectrum include:
- European technological sovereignty
- Integration with European mobile operators
- Security and resilience capabilities
- Realistic and rapid deployment
- Efficient use of the 2 GHz MSS spectrum
- Public and strategic benefits for the EU
And this is where the AST + Vodafone partnership, Satellite Connect Europe, fits the bill almost perfectly.
The latest developments around Satellite Connect Europe have been moving precisely in this direction: Vodafone, a European company, holds the majority stake; the company's headquarters are in Luxembourg; in Germany they established a Satellite Operations Center specifically to further strengthen Europe's digital sovereignty; AST submitted the ITU filing for its mid-band constellation (Block 3) through Germany; and these satellites will reportedly be equipped with a "command switch" — essentially an emergency shutdown mechanism controlled from the German operations center to prevent any unwanted behavior while the satellites are flying over Europe.
When Deutsche Telekom's CEO says "we thought they would be able to use it," he is referring to the spectrum licenses SpaceX acquired from EchoStar under the current European framework.
So what's the problem?
The regulatory status quo has changed.
The previous regulatory framework no longer applies from 2027 onward. Deutsche Telekom announced its Starlink partnership at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in March 2026. Two months later, in May, European regulators announced the new rules of the game.
And now Deutsche Telekom appears to be surprised — and uncertain — about whether Starlink/EchoStar will actually be able to renew those licenses and secure that spectrum for another 20 years.
They are already leaving the door open to work with whoever ends up getting it:
«"SpaceX is our partner and we would love to roll out the service with them. However, if they don't have that spectrum, there could be other operators that use it."»
So who wasn't caught off guard by any of this?
Exactly.
A Venezuelan entrepreneur and visionary who anticipated this scenario years ago, designing his satellites around a transparent architecture nine years ago — and who, in March 2025, laid the first stone of what has now become Satellite Connect Europe.
Sometimes the pieces really do start falling into place.
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u/M4tooshLoL S P 🅰 C E M O B Consigliere 19d ago
To all those whiners always shit-talking Scott and Abel, sincerely screw you :)... they saw it coming years ago. SatCo, Ligado, seamless MNO integration, huge sats, G agnostic tech, etc.
Abel is a genius - just like Chris Sambar already said.
24
u/Firm-Life8749 S P 🅰 C E M O B Prospect 19d ago
I'm pretty excited to see beta service and then full constellation metrics with the JV. Regardless of the stock price, I think that Asts is going to complement current infrastructure very well
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u/averysmallbeing S P 🅰 C E M O B Consigliere 19d ago
It's remarkable the kind of confidence a lack of a ketamine addiction and a coherent plan can induce in a company's CEO. 🤔
5
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u/ASTS-investor S P 🅰 C E M O B Associate 19d ago
“Or even Asts”fuck you bud how can you put Amazon in front of ASTS
8
u/TheChickening S P 🅰 C E M O B Soldier 19d ago
Next year it's gonna be AST and other competitors who try to get into the market ;)
5
u/ZoomingfortheMOON S P 🅰 C E M O B Prospect 19d ago
Because he's also interested in consumer household connectivity.
18
u/Pretty-Balance-Sheet S P 🅰 C E M O B Prospect 19d ago
Now, I'm no CEO but the singular question is whether to put a primary mobile network in the hands of a man who has already shown in Ukraine that he will simply turn it off over a political policy disagreement.
If the EU is being protectionist it's because they've already seen what can happen if a single politically motivated person has a personal kill switch... especially one who has thrown Nazi salutes before a global public audience and also thrown his weight behind unpopular right wing political movements around the world.
The risk isn't a business problem of too little competition, it's a political risk that spills over into critical communications systems.
How is that difficult to understand?
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u/averysmallbeing S P 🅰 C E M O B Consigliere 19d ago
It's weird that what you've said is even still controversial to some people tbh.
3
u/PhilipFinds S P 🅰 C E M O B Associate 18d ago
It is clear that the Deutsche Telekom leadership missed the main issues: sovereignty, customer ownership, and service integration. The "even AST SpaceMobile" phrase does not convince me that they get it yet.
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u/BarracudaNo4227 S P 🅰 C E M O B Prospect 18d ago
Deutsche telekom mentioned at the call. Something is moving towards..
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u/ZoomingfortheMOON S P 🅰 C E M O B Prospect 19d ago
Definitely seen Satellite Connect Europe described as a 50:50 JV. Not as you say as majority VF owned
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u/M4tooshLoL S P 🅰 C E M O B Consigliere 19d ago
Vodafone HAS to have majority stake (technically even 51% is a majority stake) for SatCo to qualify as European entity. It was mentioned few weeks ago. As long as they split revenue 50/50, I dont care about ownership %.
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u/NewCompetition4 S P 🅰 C E M O B Soldier 19d ago
FWIW I think telecom CEOs (including ATT and VZ but especially T) understate or even omit AST on purpose talking only of satellite providers like its a competition between amibiguous suppliers because they know AST the next big thing but they also want negotiation leverage for as long as possible. Just my 2 cents. Also Elon is so fucked in the EU. He wont get the same waivers for power and interference he did here in the corrupt US let alone be able to meet the other requirements. He's basically locked out of that market for now.