ЄС створить альтернативу Starlink за 10,6 млрд євро

The European Union is committed to building a €10.6 billion satellite constellation. It will provide the bloc with an encrypted global Internet connection and create an alternative to Elon Musk's Starlink.

This was reported by RBC-Ukraine with reference to Bloomberg.

The EU has signed contracts to start work on IRIS2, a multi-orbit network of 290 satellites that should be fully operational by 2030 and will be able to serve European governments, the military, and private customers.

The EU is concerned about the reliance on private service after militaries around the world have expressed interest in Starlink applications. The plan, which will be implemented through a public-private partnership, aims to make IRIS2 a European alternative to third-party players.

The EU will invest €6 billion, companies will contribute €4.1 billion, and the European Space Agency will provide €550 million. The contract will be valid for 12 years, and part of the EU's investment will depend on the approval of the bloc's member states.

The bloc's new Commissioner for Defense and Space, Andrius Kubilius, hailed the signing as an “important step forward” for the bloc's security and defense, saying that Europe is under threat in many ways, including through Russia's jamming of navigation signals.

“In times of war, we cannot afford to lose communication,” he said.

Starlink was a significant factor during Russia's war against Ukraine, where Kyiv's army used it to conduct military operations. Musk's advisory role in the incoming Donald Trump administration raises additional questions about how this role could affect Starlink's operations.

“There's this story in the industry that Starlink won and everyone else is dead, right? That's not true,” SES CEO Adel Al Saleh told Bloomberg. “They are investing a lot of money, so it is very difficult to compete with them. However, every country and every state wants to have sovereignty and independence. Even small countries want to launch a satellite.”

Al-Saleh said the IRIS2 contract will allow companies such as SES, which develops satellites operating in higher orbit than Starlink, to thrive, as the EU is their “main customer.”

SES and other companies will also be allowed to sell some of their services to commercial customers, and a European Commission spokesman said that about half of the satellite capacity will be reserved for government needs.

Author - Dmitriy Levchenko, 17/12/2024