Inmarsat wins action against Eutelsat
August 6, 2021
By Chris Forrester
A French high court has ruled against Eutelsat in its action against Inmarsat and Inmarsat’s hybrid satellite and terrestrial-based European Aviation Network (EAN). Eutelsat has had the action running since 2018 and objected to the use of terrestrial ground segment repeaters which it argued did not conform with Inmarsat’s S-band licence from the European Commission.
The ruling, from France’s Conseil d’Etat follows on from a similar verdict from the European Court of Justice which also rejected Eutelsat’s action.
“Inmarsat welcomes the ruling in the Conseil d’Etat upholding the legality of the authorization granted in France to operate the European Aviation Network,” an Inmarsat spokesperson stated. “EAN is an asset for Europe as a whole and it is proving very popular with passengers and airlines.”
However, the suite of objections to Inmarsat’s EAN plans is not quite over. Viasat of California also has an action running in Italy, Belgium, Spain and Germany.