Communications – Image by mohamed Hassan on Pixabay
(BRUSSELS) – The European Commission launched an invitation Friday for the industry to tender proposals to procure a concession contract to implement the EU’s Secure Communication Constellation IRIS².
The IRIS² (Infrastructure for Resilience, Interconnectivity and Security by Satellite) Satellite Constellation is a planned multi-orbit satellite internet constellation due to be deployed by the European Union by 2027. It offers enhanced communication capacities to governmental users, businesses, while ensuring high-speed internet broadband to cope with connectivity dead zones.
The public-private partnership between the Commission and the private sector is to ensure common investment into the design, development, deployment and operation of governmental and commercial infrastructure and its use.
The tender is the first step towards the concrete implementation of IRIS², which stands to benefit from an EU contribution of 2.4 billion.
The Commission says it is looking forward to receiving proposals of the whole array of the European industrial ecosystem, from well-established European industries to dynamic SMEs and newcomers.
“This is an important milestone for EU space as we launch the very first tender for our European sovereign constellation: IRIS²,” said Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton: “For our governments. For all of us in Europe. My message to all space industry players: be ready to answer.”
The proposals will be evaluated during a competitive dialogue in view of a contract signature by beginning of 2024. The provision of full operational capability for governmental services is foreseen in 2027.
The main objective of IRIS² is to provide Member States with guaranteed access to highly secure, sovereign, and global connectivity services that match their operational needs such as protection of critical infrastructure, surveillance, and support for external action or crisis management, as well as military applications.
It also aims at enabling the provision of a commercial infrastructure to provide high-speed broadband and seamless connectivity in the EU and also beyond the European borders, such as the Arctic region and Africa. IRIS² will contribute to Europe’s Digital Decade targets and to EU’s Global Gateway Strategy and represents a giant leap for EU’s resilience and technological sovereignty.
