Starlink satellites provide a satellite connection service, operate around the Earth, provide an average speed of 130 megabytes per second, offer high-speed broadband to the most inaccessible places in the world and They provide mobile calls thanks to the operator T-Mobile. Although this service, owned by Elon Musk, offers great advantages for accessing the Internet from remote areas, Starlink has several competitors provided by the European Space Agency (ESA).
First of all, the ‘Xtend 5G’ program offers a robust and secure Internet system that ensures reliable connectivity, whether you are in the center of a busy city or in a remote location. And, secondly, recently, it has become known new IRIS² constellation which provides secure connectivity to government users, as well as private companies and European citizens, and even brings high-speed Internet to areas without coverage.
Regarding this last mentioned service, the European Commission has signed a concession contract to promote this multi-orbital constellation of 290 satellites with the SpaceRISE consortium, in this way, the association will develop, deploy and operate this new satellite system of the European Union to achieve secure sovereignty on our continent.
What is IRIS²
The IRIS² constellation—Infrastructure for Resilience, Interconnectivity and Security by Satellite, for its acronym—consists of hundreds of satellites in low Earth orbit and others in medium Earth orbit, thus allowing users communicate quickly and stay constantly connected. In addition, looking to the future, it will develop an additional layer in low Earth orbit that will provide more services.
Launched by European rockets, the IRIS² constellation promotes European autonomy, resilience and competitiveness; guarantees uninterrupted access to secure government connectivity services; provides high-end commercial services; and is based on the constellations that ESA is supplying to the EU, such as Copernicus – the largest Earth observation program – and Galileo – the most accurate civil satellite navigation system in the world.
The EU wants to be a leader in connectivity
The ESA plays key role in IRIS²as the European Commission leverages “the agency’s decades-long track record of experience in developing and delivering space programs in collaboration with industry.” In addition, the twelve-year concession contract provides for the European Space Agency to supervise the development and validation activities carried out by the industrial consortium.
On the other hand, with IRIS², The European Union consolidates its position as a world leader in secure satellite connectivityaddresses current connectivity needs and lays the foundation for Europe’s strategic autonomy in a digitalized world.
Andrius Kubilius, Commissioner for Defense and Space, states in a release issued by the European Commission that “IRIS² demonstrates the determination and commitment of the Union of Strengthen Europe’s global position in spaceboth in terms of security and competitiveness, for the benefit of our governments, companies and citizens.
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