The European Union’s GOVSATCOM service was officially brought online on 14 January, offering secure communications to European military and government users. This initial service is enabled by pooling capacity from eight existing satellites in five countries.
Initially announced in 2018, the Governmental Satellite Communications (GOVSATCOM) initiative offers sovereign, reliable, secure, and cost-effective governmental satellite communications services for EU and national public authorities. The service was developed to serve as an operational bridge to IRIS2, providing short-term access to secure satellite communications services while laying the institutional and user framework for the future EU sovereign satellite communications constellation.
Speaking at the opening of the 18th European Space Conference on 27 January, European Commissioner for Defence and Space Andrius Kubilius said the initial GOVSATCOM service had gone live the previous week. However, a promotional video uploaded to the EU Defence and Space YouTube channel on 28 January revealed that the system had been brought online two weeks earlier, on 14 January.
“Last week we started GOVSATCOM operations. That means all member states can now have access to sovereign satellite communications, military and government, secure and encrypted, built in Europe [and] operated in Europe, under European control.”
According to Commissioner Kubilius, the initial service is enabled by capacity from eight communications satellites already in orbit, provided by five EU member states: France, Spain, Italy, Greece, and Luxembourg. The 28 January EU Defence and Space video explains that the pooling and sharing of capacity will be managed through two EU-operated ground hubs, which are “strategically deployed in secure facilities across EU member states.”
The responsibility for building out the service’s ground hubs was given to a consortium led by Spain’s GMV. The €107 million contract was awarded in September 2024, and at the time, an EU Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) announcement stated that “initial services will be gradually launched in the coming months.” As a result, the start of GOVSATCOM operations in January 2026 appears to be at least a year later than the timeline outlined in the 2024 announcement.
GOVSATCOM service coverage is expected to expand beyond its initial offering in 2027. To do this, the EU plans to purchase capacity from trusted European commercial partners.
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