Edinburgh / Paris, 11 April 2022. – France’s highest administrative court revoked the decision to grant two frequency bands to satellite company Starlink, saying the country’s telecoms regulator, Arcep, had made legal misjudgements, Reuters reported.
Starlink got the right operate on two radio frequencies to provide internet access from France’s Arcep regulator in February 2021. Later, two environmental activist groups, Priartem and Agir Pour L’Environnement, appealed against the decision.
The Conseil d’Etat court said that granting the licences “could impact the market of access to high-bandwith internet and affect the interests of end users.” In such cases the French law states that public hearings should be held before issuing the licences which step was missed by Arcep.
Meanwhile Agir pour l’Environnement (Acting for the Environment) has called for stronger regulations on megaconstellations to reduce space debris risks.
