BT to hold off Starlink launch until Ukraine 'noise' dies down, CEO tells FT

Nov 10 (Reuters) - BT will not launch a partnership with Elon Musk's Starlink until the "noise" over the recent disruptions in the satellite communications system in Ukraine subsides, CEO Allison Kirkby said in a Financial Times interview published on Tuesday.

Starlink's role in the Ukraine war came under scrutiny last month after speed restrictions hindered efforts to intercept Russian drones and forced some operations to be cancelled.

Here are some details:

• Ukraine uses Starlink for battlefield communications and drone operations. Restricting the satellite service hampered the country's attack and air defense drone missions against Russia

• US President Donald Trump had said last month that SpaceX CEO Elon Musk had restored Ukraine's Starlink access. Musk had accused the Ukrainian military of violating the company's terms

• Neither Musk nor the US government has acknowledged responsibility for curtailing Starlink or Starshield in Ukraine, and both have said publicly such decisions could only have been taken by the other

• BT CEO said the service was “ready to launch” but that BT was “cautious on how Starlink might be viewed at the moment considering what happened in Ukraine,” according to the FT interview

• "We will only launch it proactively when we feel the noise has died down a little bit on Elon Musk and Starlink as a result of the Ukraine thing,” Kirkby told the FT

• BT had announced its partnership with Musk's company last year, with services initially slated to be available by end of 2026

• Kirkby added BT would launch satellite broadband with Starlink “in the coming months,” FT reported

• Neither BT nor Starlink responded to requests for comment outside regular business hours

(Reporting by Harishankar Manoj in Bengaluru; Editing by Jochelle Mendonca)