BRUSSELS — The European Commission plans to reserve most satellite frequencies for European operators when a prized spectrum band opens up next year, according to two people briefed on closed-door discussions — opening a new battleground with Washington in the fight for control over technology.

European Commission top officials are expected to agree on the details of the allocation procedure on Wednesday, including how much of the band currently occupied by American firms should be handed to European players instead, and which operators qualify as European.

The EU is planning to reserve two thirds of a coveted satellite spectrum band for European players, the people said.

The decision risks angering Washington as it will limit the frequencies available to U.S. companies, including Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Amazon Leo, and curtail their fast expansion. In practice, it would mean moving from a frequency range today entirely controlled by American companies to one in which they would get, at the very best, a third.

The proposal will be made public on Wednesday. It will split the available frequencies into three blocks of 10MHz. One will be reserved for secure government communications, including through the EU’s flagship constellation IRIS², one earmarked for European startups, and a third that could be allocated either to European or non-European companies.

It also comes just days after EU institutions reached an agreement on the details of a new EU-U.S. trade deal.

The Commission is expected to frame the move not as an effort to exclude foreign companies, but as a bid to retain European control over a critical asset — much as other administrations do, including the U.S., one of the people said.

Previously, the spectrum licenses have been granted to Viasat and EchoStar, two American space operators, since 2009 for mobile communications and are set to expire in 2027.

“It is time to decide whether we want our skies to be stronger or dependent,” Spain’s Digital Transformation Minister Óscar López said at a meeting of the EU’s digital ministers last month, backed by France in calling to save the coveted frequencies for European companies in the name of sovereignty. “It is time to make European satellite industry great again.”

The decision will give an edge to European industry, which is increasingly betting on satellites to provide mobile communications and broadband from low-Earth orbit and fill coverage gaps across Europe. It would also land just before the EU is expected to present a much-anticipated tech sovereignty package of proposals to reduce the bloc’s reliance on foreign technology.

Companies from the U.K. and Norway are also set to be considered as Europeans under the proposal.

But squeezing U.S. firms out of the band could trigger retaliation from Washington. The head of the U.S. communications regulator previously warned against measures seen as unfairly discriminating against American space companies.

“In the changing geopolitical situation, EU-wide satellite connectivity becomes synonymous with resilience, security, and capability,” Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier said in a statement. “Satellite connectivity is a key piece of our technological sovereignty, our security, and our defence, as also highlighted by IRIS2,” he added, referring to the EU’s future satellite constellation to provide secure and high-speed broadband capacity.

Space Commissioner Andrius Kubilius called for the flagship project to get a slice of the frequencies in an interview with the Financial Times last week.

Once adopted, the proposal will have to be negotiated by lawmakers in the European Parliament and EU governments in the Council. The Commission could also propose extending the current licences to give institutions time to agree on the new allocation procedure and put it into effect.

This article has been updated.