Nell’ultima uscita della newsletter di European Spaceflight si torna a parlare di IRIS² concentrandosi sul ruolo di Eutelsat e sulle potenzialità e i rischi connessi all’operazione per l’azienda, ultimamente in forte difficoltà.
The project has a total estimated value of €10.6 billion, of which 60% is publicly funded, while the remaining 40% comes from private investments by the consortium members. Eutelsat itself is committing around €2 billion, which is a substantial investment. However, according to the company, its financial contribution is “back-end loaded,” meaning the majority of its spending will take place in the later stages of the project rather than upfront. This structured investment approach helps mitigate near-term financial strain, freeing up capacity for the further development of its OneWeb constellation.
In return for its €2 billion investment, Eutelsat gains access to 1.5 Tbps of LEO capacity out of IRIS2’s total 2 Tbps, as well as unused Ka-band capacity not needed by the EU. Eutelsat has also secured commitments from the EU and its Member States for IRIS2 capacity worth several hundred million euros, ensuring a steady revenue stream.