ANACOM Proposes Refusing Starlink a Lease of EchoStar's 2 GHz Satellite Spectrum for Direct-to-Phone Service

Portugal's communications regulator, ANACOM, intends to refuse a request that would have let SpaceX use satellite spectrum held by another company to send Starlink signals straight to ordinary mobile phones in Portugal. The refusal is a draft decision, approved by ANACOM's board on 20 October and announced on 21 October; it is open to comment until 4 November, and ANACOM must give its final answer by 18 November.

What was requested

On 15 September, EchoStar Mobile Limited asked ANACOM to authorise a three-year lease of its right to use the 2 GHz mobile satellite band in Portugal (title ANACOM n.º 2/2016) to Space Exploration Technologies Corporation and the Irish-registered Starlink Internet Services Limited. The right covers two slices of spectrum: 1995 to 2010 MHz (Earth to space) and 2185 to 2200 MHz (space to Earth).

According to ANACOM's draft decision (Portuguese only), SpaceX planned to use its second-generation Starlink constellation to provide "direct-to-device" service: satellite coverage reaching unmodified smartphones, to fill gaps in mobile coverage.

Why ANACOM said no

Under Article 42 of the Electronic Communications Law (Lei n.º 16/2022), a lease can only be authorised if the conditions attached to the spectrum right stay unchanged. EchoStar's radio network licence names a single geostationary satellite (ITU designation F-SAT-S-E-10E, at 10 degrees East) as the space segment of its network. The request replaces that with a constellation of non-geostationary satellites.

For ANACOM, that alters the licensed network, whose technical conditions exist to prevent harmful interference and protect public health from electromagnetic fields. EchoStar's promise to stay responsible for compliance does not cure this, ANACOM says, because the request itself changes one of those conditions.

Competition was not the reason. The Competition Authority, consulted by ANACOM, replied on 14 October that the lease was not a merger, since any economic influence would last less than eight months. ANACOM found no evidence that the lease would distort competition or lead to inefficient use of spectrum, although it noted early access could hand SpaceX a "first mover" advantage. This is separate from the Competition Authority's view on renewing MEO, NOS and Vodafone's mobile spectrum, which we reported yesterday.

A licence that ends in 2027

Timing also weighed. EchoStar's right expires on 14 May 2027, and its renewal request, filed in September 2025, has not been decided, so even an approved lease would have applied only until May 2027, not for three years. The Jornal de Negócios reported that this expiry motivated the refusal, while a future entry by Starlink is not ruled out. The European Commission proposed in May 2026 a new EU-wide selection procedure for the 2 GHz band, still going through the legislative process; across Europe the band is currently held by Inmarsat and EchoStar.

What happens next, and what it means for you

• EchoStar and SpaceX have 10 working days for a prior hearing (audiência prévia) to answer ANACOM in writing.
• Anyone may comment, in Portuguese, until 4 November by email to [email protected], through the consultation page.
• ANACOM has until 18 November to decide. Under the law, silence by that date would count as no objection to the lease.

For Starlink customers, the draft changes nothing today. It concerns only the 2 GHz band and a direct-to-phone service that has not launched; ANACOM notes that existing direct-to-device services do not use this band. It says nothing about Starlink's satellite broadband through a dish. For phone users in remote areas without mobile coverage, if the refusal stands, Starlink's direct-to-phone service will not arrive through EchoStar's spectrum before that right runs out in May 2027.