Starlink competition

EU signs contract for satellite program

The European satellite program Iris is ready to go: the EU Commission has awarded the contract for 290 satellites to a consortium of several European manufacturers. From 2030, Iris will compete with US billionaire Elon Musk's Starlink satellite network.

Among other things, the new satellites will be used to securely exchange military information. Communication between governments and heads of state in Europe is also to take place via the network. Satellites are also a way of establishing an internet connection in remote regions or where cables are damaged.

According to the EU Commission, the aim of its own satellite network is to make Europe less dependent on providers from the USA, for example, and to protect confidential information. Iris will "protect our critical infrastructures, connect our most remote areas and strengthen Europe's strategic autonomy", explained Digital Commissioner Henna Virkkunen.

Contract awarded to the Spacerise consortium
The contract for the next twelve years has been awarded to the Spacerise consortium, which brings together the manufacturers SES from Luxembourg, Eutelsat from France and Hispasat from Spain. The group's suppliers include the aircraft manufacturer Airbus and the network providers Telekom and Orange. Control centers are to be set up in Luxembourg, Toulouse in the south of France and in the Italian city of Fucino.

The satellite program is estimated to cost a total of 10.6 billion euros. Six billion euros of this is to come from the EU budget, around 550 million euros from the European Space Agency (ESA) and the rest from the private sector.