A group of European space and telecoms players has announced that they will join forces to deploy the EU’s planned satellite constellation for broadband internet. The aim of the “Infrastructure for Resilience, Interconnectivity and Security through Satellites” (IRIS2), approved by the EU Council of Ministers in March, is to contribute to “seamless digital communication” worldwide. At the same time, the EU wants the system, which costs around six billion euros, to become independent of purely private alternatives such as Starlink from Elon Musk’s US company SpaceX, Amazon’s Kuiper project or OneWeb.
The open consortium, which includes Airbus Defense and Space, Eutelsat, Hispasat, SES and Thales Alenia Space, is planning a joint bid for the Call for tenders from the EU Commission for the “Secure Connectivity Program”. Also on board the core team are Deutsche Telekom and its French counterpart Orange, as well as OHB, Hisdesat, Telespazio and Thales. Together are ready according to their own statementsto create “a state-of-the-art satellite constellation based on a multi-orbit architecture that is interoperable with the terrestrial ecosystem”. The alliance also wants to encourage start-ups and small and medium-sized companies to join, in line with the Commission’s wishes.
Over 170 satellites
According to the Council, IRIS2 should provide “ultra-fast” and “highly secure communication services” with more than 170 satellites, mainly in low earth orbit (LEO), by 2027, which is considered very ambitious. A public-private partnership with European groups is envisaged as the operational structure. A total of 2.4 billion euros are available as public funds within the framework of the program, which come from the EU space program, Horizon Europe and other funding sources, among others. The private sector is expected to contribute the remaining 3.6 billion euros.
According to the team, the aim is to “promote cooperation between all European space actors along the entire” value chain in the sense of “strategic autonomy” for the EU. One will thereby “use synergy effects between state and commercial infrastructures”. The partners also see themselves well positioned to offer commercial services ‘bridging the digital divide between European territories and increasing Europe’s global reach and competitiveness as a space and digital power in the world market’.
(sigh)
