Politico described the response as \u201cretaliation.\u201d But in a tweet<\/a> on Wednesday, Carr called it \u201creciprocity,\u201d while indicating he views it as a matter of fairness. Carr was at Mobile World Congress<\/a> in Barcelona this week, where he met<\/a> with European telecom regulators.<\/p>\n \n Carr already kicked off a process to potentially restrict foreign satellite players in the US. The FCC is now soliciting<\/a> public comment on\u00a0“satellite market access reciprocity.”<\/p>\n \u201cFor decades, the US has welcomed foreign satellite operators into our market. But restrictions on US operators in other countries have persisted. And now, new barriers are emerging that constrain US businesses operating abroad, including in the draft EU Space Law and their Digital Networks Act,\u201d Carr tweeted<\/a> on Monday.\u00a0<\/p>\n Carr is facing criticism on social media, with\u00a0critics<\/a>\u00a0noting that\u00a0President Trump has long taken an \u201cAmerica First\u201d approach, including imposing tariffs on European allies, so why is it wrong if Europe does the same for itself? <\/p>\n \n Get Our Best Stories!\n <\/p>\n A Smart, Bold Take on the Wireless World<\/p>\n Sign up for the Fully Mobilized<\/strong> newsletter to get our top mobile stories delivered right to your inbox.<\/p>\n Sign up for the Fully Mobilized<\/strong> newsletter to get our top mobile stories delivered right to your inbox.<\/p>\n \n By clicking Sign Me Up, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use<\/a> and Privacy Thanks for signing up!<\/p>\n Your subscription has been confirmed. Keep an eye on your inbox!<\/p>\n SpaceX, meanwhile, is also at MWC to promote<\/a> its satellite-to-phone service, Starlink Mobile, to wireless carriers, including those in Europe. Some carriers, most recently<\/a> Deutsche Telekom, have signed up to offer the service to their customers, giving them a way to provide satellite connectivity in cellular dead zones.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n But it\u2019s also no secret that Europe is searching for alternatives<\/a> to SpaceX. Although the broadband-focused Starlink has become crucial to the war effort in Ukraine, the Trump administration reportedly threatened to cut off access a year ago if the Ukrainian government refused to agree to a mineral deal. Last year, an online spat even erupted<\/a> between SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and a European official over the Starlink access in Ukraine.\u00a0<\/p>\n Recommended by Our Editors<\/p>\n To maintain \u201cdigital sovereignty,\u201d\u00a0the EU has been pouring billions into a homegrown<\/a> Starlink-like system called IRIS\u00b2. But the constellation remains years away. Meanwhile, SpaceX continues to grow as the leading provider of satellite internet services. At the same time, US-based Amazon Leo<\/a> and the startup AST SpaceMobile<\/a> are also emerging as potential rivals.\u00a0<\/p>\n Still, Carr sees a threat in the EU\u2019s proposed Space Act<\/a>, which would regulate \u201cboth EU and non-EU operators providing space services in Europe.\u201d The draft regulation calls for stricter rules on space safety, debris mitigation, and the environment, including measures to reduce a satellite\u2019s brightness in the night sky. Carr says it’s protectionist. <\/p>\n The US Commerce Department argued the same in November, telling<\/a> the EU that the regulation risked imposing “unacceptable regulatory burdens on US providers of space services to European customers.\u201d\u00a0Also that month, SpaceX\u00a0told<\/a>\u00a0the EU, \u201cthe proposed draft goes too far in imposing requirements that are incorrect, inflexible, or infeasible,\u201d pointing to the brightness mitigation requirements for satellites as an example.\u00a0<\/p>\n About Our Expert<\/p>\n Michael Kan<\/p>\n Senior Reporter<\/p>\n Experience<\/p>\n I’ve been a journalist for over 15 years. I got my start as a schools and cities reporter in Kansas City and joined PCMag in 2017, where I cover satellite internet services, cybersecurity, PC hardware, and more. I’m currently based in San Francisco, but previously spent over five years in China, covering the country’s technology sector.<\/p>\n Since 2020, I’ve covered the launch and explosive growth of SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service, writing 600+ stories on availability and feature launches, but also the regulatory battles over the expansion of satellite constellations, fights with rival providers like AST SpaceMobile and Amazon, and the effort to expand into satellite-based mobile service. I’ve combed through FCC filings for the latest news and driven to remote corners of California to test Starlink’s cellular service. <\/p>\n I also cover cyber threats, from ransomware gangs to the emergence of AI-based malware. Earlier this year, the FTC forced Avast<\/a> to pay consumers $16.5 million for secretly harvesting and selling their personal information to third-party clients, as revealed in my joint investigation<\/a> with Motherboard.<\/p>\n I also cover the PC graphics card market. Pandemic-era shortages led me to camp out<\/a> in front of a Best Buy to get an RTX 3000. I’m now following how President Trump’s tariffs will affect the industry. I’m always eager to learn more, so please jump in the comments with feedback and send me tips.<\/p>\n
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