The CEO of one of France’s largest engineering groups told CNBC that Europe should not rely on US infrastructure, warning of a “dangerous” overreliance on infrastructure like Elon Musk’s Starlink.
“There are two things that we need to realize in the future how big[Europe]is: this is AI and this is satellites.” Bouygues CEO Olivier Roussa spoke on CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” on Thursday.
“Europe doesn’t understand exactly how dangerous it is to rely solely on U.S. infrastructure.”
Paris-based Bouygues operates in the construction, transport and communications sectors.
The company is leading efforts to consolidate its telecommunications business in France, where its profits are being squeezed by fierce price competition among carriers.
“I’m not sure it’s absolutely necessary to get something like Starlink,” Russat said, adding that Europe needed something “to get some sovereignty.”
Starlink, a division of Musk’s SpaceX company, currently dominates the world’s satellite internet services, operating a constellation of about 10,000 satellites. SpaceX plans to list on the Nasdaq in what could be the largest IPO in history.
Roussatto pointed to Europe’s vulnerability to non-state actors like Starlink having the power to unilaterally cut off connectivity on the continent.
In April, Bouygues made a cash bid for the largest stake in rival carrier SFR for a total of 20.35 billion euros ($23.6 billion), the biggest European telecom deal in recent years. In a joint bid with peers Free-iliad Group and Orange, Bouygues Telecom will acquire a 42% stake in SFR.
SFR is France’s second-largest telecommunications operator, and the acquisition will reduce the number of network operators in the country from four to three.
The deal faces regulatory scrutiny and will test the European Commission’s appetite for consolidation in Europe’s already crowded telecoms market, as bidders will need antitrust clearance to proceed.
“The challenge for them (the European Commission) is to create the conditions for fair competition between us. I think it’s possible,” Roussatto said on Thursday.
