Advanced Television

IRIS²

SES and Eutelsat selected for IRIS2

The European Commission (EC), in a press briefing, confirmed that its planned IRIS² satellite connectivity project has selected ‘SpaceRise’ which currently comprises operators SES and Eutelsat and is the only bidding consortium. The EC said that the project is on track and a contract can now be signed on or before March 24th. Certain further […]

January 17, 2024By Chris Forrester

Integrasys acquires Sciurus

Integrasys, a specilaist in software satellite communications solutions, has announced the acquisition of Sciurus, a Spanish technology company known for its innovation, and intellectual property with state-of-the-art prototypes. Integrasys says this strategic move marks a significant step in its expansion plan, which has been steadily unfolding since 2017. The integration of Sciurus and its know-how […]

September 5, 2023

SES: IRIS² “still many unknowns”

SES CEO Steve Collar, speaking to analysts following on from the satellite operator’s Q1 results on May 4th, said the European Union’s third global satellite constellation, IRIS², was a “strategic project” for SES. Nevertheless, he admitted that while enthusiastic there were still many known unknowns and it was too early to be more specific. “We’re […]

May 5, 2023

What IRIS² means for EU’s space industry

The fact that the IRIS² satellite consortium includes just about every major name in the European space business provides a strong clue as to the project’s overall importance. IRIS², with a nod to the Greek goddess of mythology and messenger of the gods and also in its own EU-speak, Infrastructure for Resilience, Interconnectivity and Security […]

May 3, 2023

SES confirms IRIS² constellation bid

SES has confirmed that it has joined a group of European space and telecommunications players, including rival Eutelsat, which have come together to form a partnership to respond to the European Commission’s call for tender related to the future European satellite constellation IRIS² (Infrastructure for Resilience, Interconnectivity and Security by Satellite). The IRIS² satellite constellation […]

May 2, 2023By Chris Forrester

Bank favours SES, Intelsat merger

SES will announce its Q1 results on May 4th. Analysts from Berenberg Bank say that for the past six quarter-years the satellite operator has disappointed with at least two of its key deliverables. But the bank is still sticking to its ‘BUY’ rating, albeit with a slightly reduced price target for SES share price (of […]

April 27, 2023

EU approves giant LEO constellation

A meeting of the European Parliament on February 14th saw 604 members vote in favour of financing the IRIS² mega-constellation of low Earth orbiting satellites. Just six members objected. The Parliament approved the plan to invest €2.4 billion (about $2.57 billion) in initial funding. The cash is drawn from Horizon Europe research fund (€430 million), […]

February 15, 2023By Chris Forrester