Starlink Shines Where Europe's Terrestrial Broadband Lags – Ookla

Starlink has emerged as a viable alternative to home broadband in areas lacking terrestrial networks in Europe. Countries like Greece and Bulgaria show notable adoption of Starlink due to limited fiber coverage. Despite its growth, Starlink faces challenges in competing with strong terrestrial broadband in many European markets.

The impact is on product timing, infrastructure demand and company spending across the affected technology segment. Readers should watch whether the development changes a measurable technical benchmark or commercial rollout.

Starlink's Position in Europe

Starlink has established itself as a viable alternative for home broadband in gaps left uncovered by Europe's terrestrial networks, according to Ookla.

While much of Europe enjoys fast and competitively priced fixed Internet, Starlink has found a niche in regions lacking adequate coverage.

Key Markets for Starlink

Greece is one country with relatively weak fixed coverage, where Starlink has managed to gain traction.

Ookla analyst Luke Kehoe notes that Greece has one of the lowest fiber penetration rates on the continent due to its challenging geography, which includes mountains and islands.

In this context, Starlink had the second largest sample share in Ookla's Speedtest data, accounting for approximately 6%.

In contrast, Ireland, despite its rapid fiber rollout, ranked fourth in Starlink adoption, potentially due to disruptions from recent winter storms.

The UK has seen Starlink's integration into the fixed broadband landscape through government initiatives such as Project Gigabit, aimed at connecting areas where commercial fiber rollout isn't feasible.

Competition and Challenges

Starlink faces stiff competition in markets with strong terrestrial networks, such as Spain, where it holds a mere 2% sample share.

The satellite service primarily fills gaps in rural areas lacking alternatives.

Bulgaria reported the highest sample share at 8%, despite a median download speed of 61.06 Mbit/s, indicating concentrated demand in areas with extensive fiber coverage.

Terrestrial broadband remains the better choice in 16 out of 27 markets for median download speed.

While Starlink has improved its metrics in various regions over the past year, it struggles to match the latency of terrestrial networks across Europe.

Starlink is the dominant low-Earth orbit (LEO) player globally, operating over 9,000 satellites, but it faces competition from Eutelsat OneWeb and Amazon Leo, as well as the European initiative IRIS2, which aims to deploy 290 medium-Earth orbit and LEO satellites by 2030.

Many in Europe remain cautious about Starlink, influenced by a desire for tech sovereignty and concerns regarding Elon Musk's persona.

European operators are increasingly partnering with satellite firms to address coverage gaps, with companies like Deutsche Telekom and BT collaborating with Starlink to deliver broadband in underserved areas.