The European Union is going to launch a network of satellites specifically for the Internet that is supposed to do roughly the same thing as Elon Musk’s Starlink. The project will cost billions.
We know Starlink from the white dishes you can use to receive Internet via satellites in places where another connection, such as fiber optics, is not possible. The company is part of SpaceX, Elon Musk’s space company. In addition to consumers, Ukrainians, for example, are also using the network to stay connected during the war against Russia.
The European Union sees benefits in the technology, but wants to be digitally autonomous. That is why it is going to build a similar network that, with about three hundred satellites, should provide reliable Internet in remote places, among other places. Governments should be able to make use of it, but European citizens can also benefit from it.
Construction of network of satellites costs more than 10 billion euros
SpaceRISE, a partnership of European satellite companies and a number of other companies, will build and operate the network. It has been awarded a 12-year contract to do so. The network, called IRIS², is scheduled to come online starting in 2030. In total, building the network will cost 10.6 billion euros, the Financial Times reported. 61 percent of that consists of public funds.
Whether it will soon be attractive for citizens to purchase Internet from the EU satellites remains to be seen. After all, we don’t yet know what it will cost. In the meantime, Starlink is becoming increasingly popular, and now has over four million subscribers. To provide satellite Internet, the company has now launched more than six thousand satellites into space.
Starlink satellites can sometimes be observed in the sky. (Image: Unsplash)
Starlink has multiple dishes these days
Starlink now offers several dishes that allow you to receive Internet at home or on the go. You have the standard dish and the dish that can be used for corporate targets, but since this summer you also have the Starlink Mini. You can carry that in a backpack and therefore use it easily when traveling.
