On Tuesday, April 5, France’s Supreme Administrative Court overturned the French National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission’s decision to grant two frequency bands to SpaceX’s Starlink satellite broadband internet service, stating that a public hearing was required before the license could be granted.

Feb 2021 France’s Arcep has granted Starlink the right to use two radio frequencies in France to provide satellite broadband internet access. The license, zdnet.fr reported, does not guarantee that there will be no interference with other systems and services using the frequencies, and could, in short, block competition in the internet market using these frequencies.

The court revoked the license after two activist groups appealed Arcep’s decision to grant the license, arguing that granting Starlink the license would have an impact on the high-bandwidth internet access market and affect the interests of users. Arcep is required by law to hold public hearings before granting the license, but it skipped this step.

Satellite high-speed internet can help people in rural and remote areas where fiber optic cables and cell phone towers can’t reach connect to high-speed internet. It can also be used as an emergency replacement during storms, disasters and wars.

Most recently, Ukraine used Starlink satellite dishes to connect to high-speed internet after Russia bombed its transmission towers and lines.