EU satellite internet: UK, Norway and Ukraine can join IRIS2

The EU is working on its own secure satellite communications network called IRIS2, which is intended to be an alternative to Elon Musk's Starlink. The planned “infrastructure for resilience, interconnectivity, and security through satellites” is primarily intended to guarantee the member states' national requirements for broadband internet from space in line with the desired digital sovereignty. Andrius Kubilius, EU Commissioner for Defense and Space, has now surprised everyone by announcing that European third countries such as Norway, Ukraine, and the UK could also join the network.

Kubilius told Euractiv that he had no objections to such an increase in the number of IRIS2 partners. The Lithuanian emphasized that the UK has a strong space history and that Ukraine has great potential as an important space location during the Soviet era. The country in Eastern Europe currently relies heavily on Starlink to carry out its military operations against the Russian invasion forces. However, IRIS2 is still in its infancy and is unlikely to be operational on a large scale before 2030. In March, the Franco-British operator Eutelsat therefore offered to replace Starlink in Ukraine. However, it would require financial and logistical support.

According to the report, Norway is already in talks with the EU about joining IRIS2. Iceland, which like the Scandinavian country is part of the European Economic Area (EEA), is even said to have recently concluded its exploratory talks on participation in IRIS2. Ukraine and the United Kingdom have not yet entered into official negotiations with the Commission about joining.

New EU rules for satellite services in the making

There are growing concerns that Starlink could dominate the satellite communications market. This is where observers see an opportunity for IRIS2: the network is expected to cost 10.6 billion euros and consist of around 290 satellites. However, German industry has repeatedly voiced concerns that France could become too dominant in IRIS2 due to the operator constellation. Former Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck (Greens) is therefore said to have called for the initiative to be restarted at an early stage.

The EU Commission recently presented a draft for a space law. This initiative is likely to mean that companies such as Starlink operator SpaceX will no longer be able to offer their satellite services to EU consumers so easily. For example, they would have to appoint a legal representative in a member state. According to Kubilius, however, he has not yet heard any negative reactions to this plan, not even from the US.

(vbr)