Lift-off for satellite-based EU internet system

Satellite Sentinel 3 Photo ESA – J. Huart

(BRUSSELS) – The EU set out ambitious plans Tuesday for a space-based secure communication system, which would deliver high-speed internet access and provide connectivity to Europe and Africa.

The proposal for a Regulation on a space-based secure connectivity, together with a Joint Communication on an EU approach on Space Traffic Management (STM), are aimed at helping to safeguard the efficiency and security of current EU assets and developing European cutting-edge space technology.

The EU’s Space Programme is a major space power, and already provides valuable data and services for a wide array of daily applications from transport, agriculture, and crisis response to the fight against climate change.

“Our new connectivity infrastructure will deliver high-speed internet access, serve as a back-up to our current internet infrastructure, increase our resilience and cyber security, and provide connectivity to the whole of Europe and Africa,” said Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton: “It will be a truly pan-European project allowing our many start-ups and Europe as a whole to be at the forefront of technological innovation.”

Space-based connectivity is seen as a strategic asset for EU’s resilience in today’s digital world. The Commission says its plan for an EU space-based secure communication system will:

Ensure the long-term availability of worldwide uninterrupted access to secure and cost-effective satellite communication services. It will support the protection of critical infrastructures, surveillance, external actions, crisis management and applications that are critical for Member States’ economy, security and defence;
Allow for the provision of commercial services by the private sector that can enable access to advanced, reliable and fast connections to citizens and businesses across Europe, including in communication dead zones ensuring cohesion across Member States. The system will also provide connectivity over geographical areas of strategic interest, for instance Africa and the Arctic, as part of the EU Global Gateway strategy.

With both governmental user needs and satellite communication solutions changing rapidly, the EU space-based secure communication system seeks to meet these increased and evolving needs, and will also include the latest quantum communication technologies for secure encryption. It will be based on the development of innovative and disruptive technologies, and on the leveraging of the New Space ecosystem.

The total cost is estimated at 6 billion. The EU’s contribution to the Programme from 2022 until 2027 is 2.4 billion at current prices. The funding will come from different sources of the public sector (EU budget, Member States, European Space Agency’s (ESA) contributions) and private sector investments.

This initiative will further boost the competitiveness of the EU space ecosystem, as the development of a new infrastructure would provide a gross value added (GVA) of 17-24 billion and additional jobs in the EU space industry, with further positive spill-over effects on the economy through the downstream sectors using the innovative connectivity services. Citizens would also benefit from the technological advantages, reliability and operational performance of such satellite communication services ensuring high-speed internet connections across the EU.