Europe's biggest mobile operators in talks for satellite-to-mobile venture, Bloomberg News reports

Sept 7 (Reuters) - ​Deutsche Telekom, Orange , Vodafone Group and Telefonica ​are ‌in early talks to create a consortium ⁠to bid on satellite ⁠spectrum and offer direct-to-mobile ​services, Bloomberg News reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter. The group ​of ‌carriers would jointly bid for a share of the 2 gigahertz of airwaves that the European ​Union has proposed reserving for a local ‌operator, a plan aimed at increasing sovereign satellite capabilities, the ‌report added. No final decisions on the consortium or plans to bid have been ​made, Bloomberg said. Vodafone and Orange declined to comment, ‌while Deutsche Telekom and Telefonica did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The ⁠initiative would ⁠create a European ‌rival to Elon Musk's Starlink service on the continent, ​and ​align with the European Union's ‌push to build sovereign satellite communication capabilities.