Mama Mia! France Bets Big on Space Race, But Can Eutelsat Jump High Enough to Catch Starlink?

It's a Me Mario and Space!

Wahoo! It's a me Mario reporting live from the Mushroom Kingdom... or well about the happenings in France! Seems like they're trying to build a European version of Starlink that fancy satellite internet thingamajig. They teamed up Eutelsat with OneWeb like a Luigi and me going on an adventure! But can they catch up to Starlink? Let's a find out!

Big Investment Bigger Dreams

France is throwing some serious coins 1.35 billion euros to be exact at Eutelsat! It's a like finding a hidden block with a 1 Up! Now they're the biggest shareholder which is a good but Starlink's still way ahead. Seems like the US is winning the space race leaving Europe in second place. Oh no!

Starlink's Got the High Score

Starlink has over 7,000 satellites up in the sky which is a more than Eutelsat! It's like trying to beat Bowser with a tiny mushroom! Even though France is treating Eutelsat as important it's gonna take a lot of work to catch up. Mamma mia that's a lot of satellites!

Size Matters Even in Space

Eutelsat's OneWeb has only 650 LEO satellites. That's less than a tenth of Starlink's! To get better capacity they need more satellites but some of them are getting old! It's like trying to fix a broken pipe with a rusty wrench! Experts say it will be hard to catch up in the next five years even with all that coin.

A New Challenger Approaches! (Maybe)

France wants Europe to invest more in space. President Macron said space is a gauge of power like a Super Star! Eutelsat says they're the only European company with a working LEO network. They even said they could maybe replace Starlink in Ukraine! But the old CEO said they can't handle all of Ukraine's connectivity! It's a complicated.

Different Satellites Different Uses

Eutelsat and Starlink use different satellites with different styles. Eutelsat uses GEO satellites for some things which can cover more land with fewer satellites. They're used for things like research in remote places. Eutelsat is planning to improve and focus on European controlled areas. We'll see if they can jump high enough! It's a game time!