The European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) has awarded GMV a contract to design, develop, and deploy the Communications Hub for the EU’s GOVSATCOM system.
The Governmental Satellite Communications (GOVSATCOM) initiative was introduced as part of the European Union Space Programme in June 2018. The initiative aims to create a secure satellite communications system that can be utilized by European governments for disaster response and security applications. In December 2020, the European Parliament and EU Member States finalized the agreement, allowing work on the €13.2-billion programme to officially commence.
A key element of the GOVSATCOM system is the Communications Hub. This IT system will bring together commercial and state satellite communications capabilities into a single service that can be accessed by European governments.
“The Hub is the heart of the GOVSATCOM ecosystem, linking the programme’s pool of SatCom service providers and operators with authorized government users,” said Dr. Georgios Synnefakis, EUSPA GOVSATCOM programme manager.
On 17 September, EUSPA announced that Spain’s GMV had been selected to lead a consortium of companies to design, develop, and deploy the GOVSATCOM Communications Hub. Other key partners of the consortium include Indra and Hisdesat. The maximum budget for the Communications Hub project is €107 million.
Initial access to the GOVSATCOM system is expected to begin in the coming months. The system is expected to become fully operational by mid-2027.
