Inmarsat has launched legal action against the Dutch government after the British satellite company was told to move a facility it uses for critical global maritime safety services so that telecoms companies can use its spectrum for 5G.
The company has initiated proceedings in the civil court in the Netherlands to seek an injunction over what it claims is a contravention of national and international law.
The group, which was acquired for $6bn in 2019 by private equity companies Apax and Warburg Pincus, has accused the ministry of economic affairs of “intransigence” after 18 months of talks over the issue.
Inmarsat has for decades operated from a site known as “big ears” in the north-east of the country. The Burum facility, also used by the military, acts as an emergency call centre to manage maritime safety, which Inmarsat provides to ships and boats free of charge. The company says 2m seafarers are supported by the site.
Burum uses spectrum — the frequencies used to carry wireless data signals — within the “C-Band” range that has become an attractive resource for telecoms companies looking to boost 5G coverage. The US C-Band sale raised $81bn this year.
The Dutch government is moving ahead with a sale of spectrum in that band by 2022. The ministry of economic affairs said it had presented parliament with independent research showing Inmarsat’s services and 5G could not coexist, and that Inmarsat must move its operations abroad.
The company argued that it could operate within the spectrum range alongside commercial 5G services and that a relocation would come at huge cost and disruption. It said it had “no choice” but to seek an injunction.
“Should a move be forced on Inmarsat, then the proposed timing of the changeover in frequency use . . . is unrealistic and will require a long transitional term to carry out the wholly avoidable move,” it said.
The spectrum sale could also force private wireless networks that have been built around ports and other locations to vacate that band, according to analysts.
Inmarsat was established in the 1970s as an intergovernmental organisation to improve safety by placing warning beacons on all ships above a certain size.