https://orf.at/#/stories/3294263/
Commission welcomes political agreement to launch IRIS², the Union's Secure Connectivity Programme
The Commission welcomes the political agreement reached today between the European Parliament and EU Member States on the Union Secure Connectivity Programme 2023-2027 with a budget of €2.4 billion. The programme aims at deploying an EU satellite constellation, to be called ‘IRIS²' (Infrastructure for Resilience, Interconnectivity and Security by Satellite). 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.
Satellite based connectivity through Low earth orbit will also enable Europe to provide ultra-secured connectivity to armed forces.
It will include the latest quantum communication technologies for secure encryption by integrating the European Quantum Communication Infrastructure (EuroQCI).
https://ec.europa.eu/commission/pressco ... ip_22_6952Next Steps
The political agreement reached by the European Parliament, Council and Commission is now subject to formal approval by the European Parliament and the Council.
The Commission will soon present several implementing acts, as set out in the Programme Regulation. In parallel, the Commission is working on preparing the tender specifications for setting up swiftly the Secure Connectivity system.
Welcome to IRIS², Europe's new Infrastructure for Resilience, Interconnection & Security by Satellites I Blog of Commissioner Thierry Breton
https://ec.europa.eu/commission/pressco ... NT_22_6999The framework defined today is very clear:
- IRIS² will be a sovereign constellation, which imposes strict eligibility criteria and security requirements.
- IRIS² will be a constellation focused on government services, including defence applications.
- IRIS² will provide connectivity to the whole of Europe, including areas that do not currently benefit from broadband Internet, as well as to the whole of Africa, using the constellation's North-South orbits.
- IRIS² will be a "new space" constellation the European way, integrating the know-how of the major European space industries - but also the dynamism of our start-ups, who will build 30% of the infrastructure.
- IRIS² will be a constellation at the cutting edge of technology, to give Europe a lead, for example in quantum encryption. It will therefore be a vector of innovation.
- IRIS² will be a multi-orbit constellation, capable of creating synergies with our existing Galileo and Copernicus constellations. The objective here is to reduce the risk of space congestion.
