The European Union must "move quickly" on the satellite broadband network

 

The European Commission says it wants a large constellation of satellites to be proposed these days to provide some kind of preliminary carrier in 2024.

Artwork: The ambitious target is to have an initial service by 2024 and a full service by 2027

The first priority is to fill the gaps in broadband coverage where terrestrial infrastructure cannot reach, but will then operate services such as autonomous cars.

In some way, the project will mirror the Starlink network in the US and the OneWeb networks in British India.

Its scope has not been fully determined.

The airlines and telecommunications association is doing it now.

But EU Internal Market Commissioner Terry Britton said he wanted to start this idea as soon as possible.

"My aim is to act quickly," he said at the 13th European Space Conference on Tuesday, "so it would be appropriate for the Commission this year to present a proposal to the European Parliament and the European Council so that we can make concrete progress."

“To get ready, a few weeks ago we launched an apprenticeship on a waterproof space communications system. The selected consortium consisting of European satellite television for PC manufacturers, operators and service providers, and telecom operators and launch providers will know the outline and feasible improvement of this project.

          "This will provide data on the technical dimension, but also on the governance structure, funding, missions and specific scope. I hope that your first reaction will be in April this year."

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The impenetrable communications device will be the next flagship to come out of the European Union after the Galileo satellite television constellation for PC and the Copernicus app with its Earth-observing spacecraft Sentinel.

               EU officials have spoken only in the broadest sentences of what they choose to see in the new communications project.

They talk about a combination of geostationary, medium and low satellites using advanced quantum encryption, interconnected with optical conductors, and which sensors in the back can also be used to monitor flight and cargo, just as examples. But they argue that fast, secure, low-latency, and portable spatial communication will be the capacity needed to enable a number of future technologies, such as autonomous cars.

Europe needs that ability to remain globally competitive.

However, the main motivation will be mainly to fill in those last "undefined spots" in Member States where the terrestrial infrastructure cannot provide broadband services, which are believed to be at least five million households.

After cutting the cost, EU officials told reporters Tuesday that any estimates should await the industry consortium's report in the spring. However, experience says that it will be in the price range of billions of euros.

As for where the money will come from to make all of this happen, it seems that the preferred option is some kind of public-private partnership.

Officials said the committee has some money to apply for in its various directions, but they hoped industry, individual member states and the European Space Agency would also invest in the system.

Whatever the form of the system and how it is funded, speed of implementation will be of the utmost importance.

The huge Starlink broadband group, which is being built by SpaceX owned by American businessman Elon Musk, has started offering experimental or experimental broadband connections in Northern Europe; OneWeb, owned by Bharti Global Group of India and the British government, expects to secure an initial offering for its northern European clients later this year.

"From the first Galileo idea to the first operational service in Europe, 20 years have passed; we do not have 20 years [for this new project]", says Jean-Marc Nasr, head of space systems at Airbus, who leads the feasibility consortium. .

"Speed ​​is essential here. The idea of ​​European space infrastructure has been on the table since the beginning of 2020. We cannot have the first service in 2040. If we do that, we are dead."

"We have to operate the service by the end of this decade at the latest. This requires that we all work as a team to bring the best competitive service and technical expertise to Europe."

There is talk that the network will be fully operational at the end of the new multi-annual budget period of the European Union, which is 2027.