EU Reaches Agreement on Satellite Comms Project: Opens Iris

Arthur T Knackerbracket writes:

https://www.theregister.com/2022/11/21/eu_reaches_agreement_on_satellite_iris/

Europe is constructing its own satellite constellation to guarantee communications services for the region, following an agreement between the European Parliament and EU member states to invest 2.4 billion ($2.481 billion) in the program.

The IRIS^2 (Infrastructure for Resilience, Interconnectivity and Security by Satellite) project aims to build and operate an EU satellite constellation to provide "sovereign, autonomous and secured connectivity infrastructure" rather than EU nations having to rely on third-country infrastructure for vital communications.

The European Commission welcomed the agreement covering the Union Secure Connectivity Program 2023-2027, which provides the 2.4 billion ($2.5 billion) budget. It said negotiations have now concluded, paving the way for final approval of the legal text by the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union.

As we reported earlier, this was expected to be a 6 billion ($6.2 billion) deal, with the EU stumping up part of the funding and the remainder coming from private sector investments.

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