US urges Europe to choose between American and Chinese communications technologies

A senior Trump administration official, US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Brendan Carr, has urged European allies to choose American communications technology over Chinese technology – in this case Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite internet company, the Financial Times reports.

His comments come as European governments and some companies have raised concerns and doubts about Starlink’s credibility as a partner after Washington threatened to cut off internet service to Ukraine. “If you’re worried about Starlink, just wait for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) version — then you’ll be worried,” Carr warned. He said Europe was “caught” between Washington and Beijing and warned of a “big gap” opening up between “CCP-aligned countries and the rest” in AI and satellite technology.

«”If Europe has its own satellite constellation, that would be great. I think the more the better. But in a broader sense, Europe, in my opinion, is a little bit squeezed between the US and China. Now is the time to make a choice,” he said.

Currently, British telecoms companies BT and Virgin Media O2, along with a number of others, are testing Starlink technologies to provide mobile and broadband connections, but none have yet signed a deal with the US provider.

Brendan Carr also said European regulators were “biased” against US tech companies and accused the European Commission of “protectionism” and an “anti-American” approach.

In turn, a representative of the European Commission said that it “has always applied and will continue to apply the laws fairly and without discrimination to all companies operating in the EU, in full compliance with international standards.”

Carr also suggested that European telecoms companies Nokia and Ericsson should move more of their manufacturing to the U.S. because of high import tariffs imposed under Trump. Both companies are the largest suppliers of mobile network infrastructure equipment in the U.S. He promised that if they moved, the companies would be able to get faster regulatory approvals for new technologies.

Carr noted that because of a historic “mistake” in industrial policy, there is not a single significant American company left in the U.S. telecommunications equipment supply market.

Nokia said the US has become the company’s “second home.” “About 90% of all communications in the US use Nokia equipment at some point in time. We have five manufacturing sites and five R&D centers in the US, including Nokia Bell Labs,” the company added. Swedish telecom equipment maker Ericsson, which opened a plant in Lewisville, Texas, in 2020, said the company is already ramping up production in the US.