The European Commission has finalised an implementation plan for IRIS², an EU-backed satellite broadband network intended to provide a sovereign, secure alternative to services such as Starlink. The agreement moves the project from planning towards deployment and matters because it is designed to support European governments and participating countries during emergencies, humanitarian operations and border surveillance.

IRIS² will comprise 348 satellites, including 66 more low-Earth-orbit satellites than originally planned; the European Space Agency says this should raise secure governmental capacity by 60 per cent within the EU and 54 per cent globally. The first launches are planned for 2029, with services introduced progressively from that year; although far smaller than Starlink’s more than 10,000 active satellites, the network may later serve businesses and citizens in poorly connected areas.