DT and Orange Enter European Satellite Consortium

Big names in European telecommunications and space sectors formed a consortium targeted at winning a contract to supply the EU’s satellite connectivity project IRIS2. The group is being led by Airbus Defence and Space, Eutelsat, Hispasat, SES, and Thales Alenia Space. It also comprises a core team of cross-sector players including Deutsche Telekom and Orange.

The group’s announcement follows a European Commission’s call for tender for supplying European satellite constellation project IRIS2. The project carries an EU budget of €2.4 billion, with a contribution of €685 million from the European Space Agency. Financial backing from other parties is expected to bump this much higher, with the EC originally pinning the final figure at €6 billion.

Once complete, IRIS2 is expected to deliver low latency, highly-secure communications services within Europe and areas deemed strategically important to the economic bloc. The consortium noted the aim to create a state-of-the-art satellite constellation based on a multi-orbit architecture that would be interoperable with the terrestrial ecosystem. It claims it will set up an integrated best-in-class European space and telecoms team. In addition to the declared members, it aims to attract start-ups and small- and medium-sized companies to join.