EU Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton has been promoting this since 2020, and the EU Parliament and countries have now agreed to set up an independent satellite system for secure broadband internet from space. It would be the EU’s third major space project alongside the Galileo navigation satellites and the Copernicus earth observation system. The constellation is named Iris² (Infrastructure for Resilience, Interconnection and Security by Satellites) – also after the Greek messenger of the gods. The satellites are scheduled to fly in 2027 and will primarily cover Europe, Africa and the Arctic in order to also provide rural areas with fast internet. The EU wants to pay 2.4 billion euros, but Esa and private investors should also participate. An industry consortium and New Space groups are already applying to build the satellite.
EU – Internet from Space – Economy
