- Nigeria refuse to play in Libya as Algeria, Cameroon qualify
- Strike-hit Boeing leaves experts puzzled by strategy
- Leweling rockets Germany past Dutch and into Nations League quarterfinals
- Kolo Muani double fires France to win in Belgium
- Italy sweep past Israel in Nations League amid high security
- UN peacekeepers to 'stay in all positions' in Lebanon
- NASA launches probe to study if life possible on icy Jupiter moon
- 'Unique' Ronaldo an example to everyone, says Martinez
- New lawsuits against Sean Combs allege sex assault, including of minor
- Italy begins migrant transfers to Albania with first group of 16
- Google signs nuclear power deal with startup Kairos
- Carsley open to foreign England manager amid Guardiola links
- Pogba hungry to have his football cake after doping ban
- India and Canada expel top envoys in Sikh separatist killing row
- Mbappe says victim of 'fake news' after 'rape' report in Sweden
- Lebanon says 21 killed in strike on northern village
- Netanyahu vows no mercy after deadly Hezbollah drone strike
- Russia could be able to attack NATO by 2030: German intelligence
- EVs seek to regain sales momentum at Paris Motor Show
- Clarke backs Scotland to bounce back from 'tough' run
- Harris, Trump target crucial Pennsylvania as US vote looms
- NASA probe Europa Clipper lifts off for Jupiter's icy moon
- Lebanese Red Cross says 18 killed in strike in north
- Mendy borrowed money from Man City team-mates for legal fees
- Palestinian officials say Israeli forces kill two in West Bank
- Football leagues, unions file EU complaint against FIFA in calendar dispute
- Nigeria boycott AFCON qualifier in Libya after 'inhumane treatment'
- India to recall top envoy to Canada: foreign ministry
- Hezbollah, Israeli troops in 'violent clashes' after drone strike
- China insists won't renounce 'use of force' to take Taiwan as drills end
- Painkiller sale plan to US gives France major headache
- Italy begins landmark migrant transfers to Albania
- Russia jails French researcher for three years
- 'Unsustainable' housing crisis bedevils Spain's socialist govt
- Stocks shrug off China disappointment but oil slides
- New Zealand 4-0 up in America's Cup but British show signs of life
- Russian prosecutor demands 3 years prison for French researcher
- 'Innocent' British nerve agent victim caught in global murder plot: inquiry
- Afghan Taliban vow to implement media ban on images of living things
- Russian prosecutor demands 3 years, 3 months jail for French researcher
- England ready for Pakistan's spin assault in second Test
- New Zealand's Ravindra excited for India Tests with father in crowd
- India's capital bans fireworks to curb air pollution
- Stocks diverge, oil retreats as China disappoints markets
- FIFA to open 'global dialogue' on transfer system after Diarra ruling
- Trio wins economics Nobel for work on wealth inequality
- Starmer vows to cut red tape as he urges foreign investors to 'back' UK
- Ex-Stasi officer jailed over 1974 Berlin border killing
- 'Not viable': Barcelona turns against surging tourism
- Hezbollah says targeted Israeli naval base after deadly drone strike
Nobody wants a Musk monopoly on satellite internet: Eutelsat boss
The boss of European satellite operator Eutelsat knows her task will not be easy: to forge a competitor to Elon Musk's Starlink and provide superfast internet from space.
"We have a lot of customers who want us to get there quickly," Eva Berneke told AFP in an interview.
"They tell us they took Starlink because there wasn't anyone else. But they want competition too. Nobody wants a monopoly."
Eutelsat recently merged with British operator OneWeb and is aiming to add telecoms and connectivity to its main business of broadcast media.
But Musk is not the only competitor.
US magnate Jeff Bezos and the Chinese government also have ambitions to launch thousands of satellites.
"There's room for four or five operators," Berneke said of the emerging industry, comparing it to mobile phone networks.
Satellite broadband promises to bring coverage to the most remote areas by doing away with the need for antennas and other infrastructure.
It will also supply internet to passenger planes and products like connected cars.
- 'Anything is possible' -
Eutelsat plans to release a second generation of OneWeb internet services by 2028.
Berneke is also planning to get on board with a six-billion-euro EU project called IRIS2, which will aim to launch a network of satellites.
Eutelsat is part of a consortium negotiating with the EU and Berneke said she could envisage OneWeb payloads on IRIS2 satellites and vice-versa.
"At this stage, anything is possible," she said.
However, there are some thorny issues to be thrashed out.
OneWeb is a subsidiary of Eutelsat, but the British government has a "golden share" in the company -- the kind of control that worries some in the IRIS2 setup.
Berneke said she had set up a "security committee" to ensure that only authorised people could access sensitive aspects of the project.
The consortium is aiming to close a deal by early next year, but she acknowledged there are plenty of issues to be sorted out, not least the involvement of non-EU elements in OneWeb.
But Berneke highlighted that European launch facilities were thin on the ground right now.
"If we insist on launching something that needs to be operational in 2028 and for the launcher to be European, we will have a hard time, it's as simple as that," she said.
H.E.Young--AMWN