EU plans €10bn rival to Musk’s Starlink
First of 290 satellites will launch in 2029 with the Iris2 system going operational from 2030
The European Union has inked contracts on a €10.6 billion (£8.76 billion) project to build a communications network to rival Elon Musk’s Starlink.
Based on a multi-orbit constellation of 290 satellites, the Iris2 project is intended to provide “ultra-fast, low latency, and highly secure communications services”, as part of the bloc’s EU secure connectivity programme. Two-thirds of the funding for the project will come direct from the EU, with one-third from the private sector under the SpaceRISE consortium.
That consortium is made up of European satellite operators SES, Eutelsat and Hispasat. The return on their funding will come from a 12-year initial concession.
The satellites will be launched from European rockets across low Earth orbit (LEO) and medium Earth orbit (MEO), according to the European Space Agency (ESA), although the launch partner has not yet been named. Indeed, the first launch will only take place in 2029 with the system going operational in 2030 – against an original plan to start up in 2027.
By using both LEO and MEO orbits, the intention is to provide a combination of both coverage with MEO combined with the lower latency of LEO satellites. An additional layer in low LEO will provide further services at a later date.
In contrast, Starlink has more than 6,000 satellites and is already operational in around 100 countries.
The primary objective of Iris2 is to provide members with guaranteed access to “highly secure, sovereign and global connectivity services” that will help protect critical infrastructure, and support surveillance, crisis management and any other external actions, including military applications. In addition, like Starlink, Iris2 will also provide connectivity to households and private companies, especially in areas with poor terrestrial internet coverage.
The communications network will support activity both across Europe and into both the increasingly competitive Arctic region and Africa. It will be secured by quantum cryptography, the EU claims, developed by the European Quantum Communication Infrastructure (EuroQCI).
As an EU project, the UK is excluded, but is working on its own satellite information and communications services, with the Juno surveillance and intelligence network expected to be up and running from 2027.