A network of satellites to allow EU Member States to have access to ‘sovereign satellite communications’. This is the objective outlined today by the European Defense Commissioner, Andrius Kubilius, in his speech at the opening of the European Space Conference in Brussels.
The European Sovereign Satellite Communications Project
A target to be reached in three phases, one of which started just a few days ago: Kubilius announced that last week the operations of Govsatcom, the program for secure government satellite communications through the pooling of national or national public resources already existing in different countries, began.
Govsatcom: satellites already operational in Europe
“At the moment we have eight satellites from five countries that are already providing this service”, explained Kubilius, speaking to the press on the sidelines of his speech, in which he underlined how the communications provided by Govsatcom were “military and governmental, secure and encrypted” as well as “operated in Europe, under European control”. The second phase, in 2027, involves an expansion of coverage and bandwidth, “to cover the entire world”, purchasing this new capacity from commercial partners “with additional levels of security”.
Iris2, the European alternative to Starlink
The last phase, perhaps the most important, is scheduled for 2029, when the Iris2 project should become operational. A European alternative to Elon Musk’s Starlink, Iris2 will represent the EU’s satellite constellation to provide internet connection via satellite.
«Also last week, the big news: Iris2’s military Ka-band frequencies were brought into service, enabling the provision of government services. A very important event, demonstrating the progress of Iris2 and the value of the public-private partnership model, which allows the use of existing satellites of our private partners. I have asked all partners to step up and accelerate work on Iris2. I am confident that we will already be able to deploy initial services by 2029,” the Commissioner said in his speech.
A timeline that could also attract the interest of the Italian government, which has repeatedly been shown to be interested in collaborating with Starlink for the provision of these services – however without any concrete outcome – and potentially interested in new developments on the topic at community level.
Italian interest and Zingaretti’s comment
«Excellent news on the acceleration of Iris2, the new European satellite constellation which will be launched in 2029. It will be a further step forward towards the strategic and security independence of the European Union. These are political choices that make the difference”, is the comment of the head of the delegation of the Democratic Party (S&D) in the European Parliament, Nicola Zingaretti.
Towards a European Space Shield
But satellite connection is not the only space policy in the EU’s sights. «For an effective Space Shield, we must think of dedicated actors: a partnership between space commands», Kubilius further stated, as «today, in case of crisis or war, national space commands can quickly mobilize space resources for national defense. But there is no process for mobilizing European resources for our joint defense. It is not clear who does what,” he added.
«I see this partnership as a framework for cooperation, a ‘virtual European space command’. In this way, all Member States can use our space resources in times of crisis or war,” he concluded.
Finally, a real Space Act is also currently being discussed between the co-legislators. «The Space Act must be created under the sign of simplification: clear rules, certain deadlines and less bureaucracy to build a true European space market, capable of attracting businesses, start-ups and investments», is the comment of the rapporteur, the MEP from Fratelli d’Italia (Ecr), Elena Donazzan.
«I deliberately talk about the market because the risk is that Europe, once again, ends up penalizing itself with excessive regulation. This act will only be a success if we avoid the mistakes already made in other strategic sectors, such as the automotive sector: we need healthy realism, no ideological drift and a regulatory system that is truly functional to economic development”, he added, reiterating the need to “avoid duplication and overlap, clarify responsibilities and build a balanced governance that respects the role of the member states and national agencies, avoiding excessive centralization which would only produce more bureaucracy and unsustainable costs for businesses”.