Spanish satellite operator Sateliot in talks to offer 5G to European armies

MADRID (Reuters) -Spanish satellite startup Sateliot is in talks with several European defence ministries to offer 5G connection for their militaries, its co-founders said on Wednesday.

The company, which recently raised 70 million euros ($79 million) in debt and equity, expects to offer narrow 5G band connection to small devices in areas without mobile phone coverage through satellites.

Co-founder and CEO Jaume Sanpera said the European company was attracting interest from countries in the region that want to reduce their reliance on non-European companies such as Elon Musk's Starlink.

"Our service is applicable to battlefield logistics, so we have been contacted for that technology," said Marco Guadalupi, Sateliot's co-founder and chief technology officer, without disclosing which countries or how many.

Aside from the defence sector, other potential customers include logistics companies, farmers, oil platforms, or environmental applications.

The company intends to start commercial service within two months by supplying local mobile telephone operators across the world. Final customers would pay about 2.50 euros ($2.83) a month to connect a device for a few moments a day.

The company intends to deploy about 100 satellites by 2028 and hit 1 billion euros in revenue by 2030. It will gradually improve the quality of connection, making it possible to transmit voice messages once its constellation gets denser.

After the most recent financing round, the Spanish state owns a 20% stake in Sateliot, Sanpera said.

Sateliot currently operates five low-orbit nano satellites, each about the size of a microwave oven, and services 12 test clients.

($1 = 0.8818 euros)

(Reporting by Inti Landauro. Editing by Charlie Devereux and Mark Potter)