The European Commission has selected a consortium bringing together European satellite manufacturers, operators and service providers, telecom operators and launch service providers to study the project, develop and launch a space-based communication system owned by Europeans.
The consortium members are Airbus, Arianespace, Eutelsat, Hispasat, OHB, Orange, SES, Telespazio and Thales Alenia Space.
The study will assess the feasibility of a new project aimed at strengthening European digital sovereignty and providing secure connectivity for citizens, businesses and public institutions, as well as providing global coverage for rural and remote areas. This new flagship EU program, complementing the Copernicus and Galileo projects, once given the green light, will be able to fully leverage the synergy of technological potential developed by the digital and space industries. The contract for the one-year feasibility study is worth €7.1 million.
The European space communication system, whose creation is supported by Commissioner Breton, is designed to provide secure communication services for the EU and its member states, as well as broadband connectivity services for European citizens, businesses and mobile sectors, thereby strengthening the EU's digital sovereignty. The project will be based on the European Union's GOVSATCOM program, which aims to combine and jointly use satellite services and should provide a high level of reliability, resilience and security that is currently unavailable on the market; the project will also use the EuroQCI initiative, which promotes innovative quantum cryptography technology.
In particular, at the stage of the study commissioned by the European Commission, user and mission requirements will be combined, and a preliminary architectural design and service delivery concept will be provided, as well as corresponding budget estimates. At this stage, a public-private partnership (PPP) scheme will be considered and evaluated.
The study should show how the space system can improve the capabilities of existing critical infrastructure (including terrestrial networks) and connect to them, thereby strengthening the EU's cloud access capabilities and providing digital services in a secure and independent manner, which is essential for building trust in the digital economy and ensuring European strategic autonomy and resilience.
The possibility of using satellites in the 5G ecosystem and strengthening their role will be considered, and an assessment of compatibility will be carried out, taking into account the evolution towards future 6G technologies.
The launch of European sovereign infrastructure is intended to benefit a wide range of sectors, including road and maritime transport, air traffic and its management, the development of autonomous vehicles, as well as a multitude of Internet of Things (IoT) applications. The infrastructure should provide enhanced security in the transmission and storage of information and data, supporting the needs of various users, such as government agencies, financial and banking companies, scientific networks, critical infrastructure and data centers.