The EU GOVSATCOM initiative bridges the gap between the growing needs for governmental telecommunication and the capabilities offered by existing and planned satellite communication (satcom) systems.

During a first implementation phase running until 2025, EU GOVSATCOM will use the capacities and services provided by existing national satcom systems and accredited private operators. The access to these existing infrastructures will be provided through one or several operational Hubs interconnecting the users and the operations centres of the different satcom suppliers in a smart and secure manner.

These EU-owned Hubs – designed on the basis of operational and security requirements – will incorporate all central functions to organise and manage demand and supply. While aggregating the users’ demands, they will combine and link different satellite and ground infrastructures capacities into a system-of-systems approach.

Settled on secured and protected sites, the GOVSATCOM Hubs will be in charge of monitoring and ensuring the overall capacity and service planning as well as the security of the overall system.

In case the first phase would be insufficient to cover the evolving demand, a second phase might see additional bespoke space infrastructure or capabilities being developed through one or several public-private partnerships beyond 2025.

Based on a maximal interoperability of equipment and compliance with the standards of different user communities, the system will be compatible with most of the existing user terminals.