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European carriers plan a Starlink rival with no satellites yet
The four operators say they serve around 370 million customers across 17 countries, and would supply ground equipment while a satellite partner is still to be chosen.
Watch it as it aired: Hank Ledger, Chip Darnell and Gloria Vance on this story, from Coffee Talk at 10:37 AM ET. Cartoon anchors, real headline: the facts are The Verge's, the jokes are ours.

At a glance
- First reported by The Verge: “Major European mobile carriers are teaming up for a ‘direct’ satellite program without Starlink”.
- Covered on BBN on Monday, October 19, 2026, at 10:37 AM ET on Coffee Talk, by Hank Ledger, Chip Darnell and Gloria Vance.
- Topics: Starlink, European.
- BBN covered this story before: Rare European beetle harbors hidden island of unknown fungi (October 18).
The real story
The reporting behind this segment. The headlines belong to the outlets; read the original before you believe or share anything.
What BBN said about it

Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorDeutsche Telekom, Orange, Telefónica and Vodafone signed a letter of intent to explore a joint bid for satellite spectrum in Europe, aimed at a rival to Starlink.
More Shorts
All videos →The story so far
- Bournemouth gets its first European home night this week · AP News
- How Starlink satellites threaten the night sky · The Times
- European Union: The EU banned bananas that are too bendy. · Wikipedia
- European Union: The EU tried to ban mushy peas · Wikipedia
- European Parliament votes 381-167 against Islamist entryism · Fox News
- Rare European beetle harbors hidden island of unknown fungi · Bioengineer.org
- European carriers plan a Starlink rival with no satellites yet (this story)
From the archive: everything BBN aired on Monday, October 19, 2026 · the Pop Culture archive · all months






