• Europe is awash with satellite developments
• UK firm Open Cosmos has raised €300m
• SES and Elveo are accelerating their D2D plans for the region

Blink for a moment and you might miss a satellite communications development, such is the welter of activity in the sector right now as direct-to-device (D2D), satellite broadband and the non-terrestrial network (NTN) component of 6G strategies attract strategic and financial attention, with the latest wave of news centring around the growing demand for sovereign connectivity services in Europe. 

Open Cosmos, the UK-based satellite firm that earlier this year launched a new space-based internet of things (IoT) service to provide governments and multinationals with real-time Earth observation data as “contextual intelligence”, has raised €300m from a broad range of investors led by European firms Lightrock, ETF Partners, Institut Català de Finances (ICF), Entrepreneurs First and two major international pension funds, the company has announced. 

It will use the funds to expand its satellite mass manufacturing capabilities (the company also make satellites as part of its OpenOrbit operation) and “accelerate the delivery of intelligence and connectivity services” by expanding ConnectedCosmos, its low-earth orbit (LEO) constellation that offers sovereign broadband and IoT connectivity; OpenConstellation – its shared Earth observation (EO) satellite platform; and DataCosmos – its data platform that processes EO imagery and sensor data.

In announcing its raise, the company has shared a telling statistic: As space becomes a “critical layer of sovereignty and strategic autonomy for both companies and governments”, so investments are ramping up, with global space investment from venture capital firms reaching $11.3bn in the first six months of 2026, up from $10.1bn for the whole of 2025. 

Open Cosmos notes that “European governments are treating space systems as core infrastructure, investing in sovereign communications and EO capabilities to reduce reliance on non-European infrastructure and strengthen national and economic security. Governments increasingly need secure satellite communications, Earth observation and real-time operational intelligence without the cost and complexity of building independent space infrastructure. Over the past decade, Open Cosmos has developed the technology needed to create an intelligence layer around Earth where satellites observe, connect and work together to better understand the world.”  

It adds: “For example, an OpenConstellation satellite could detect an unusual increase in temperature over a forest and use onboard AI to identify it as a potential fire. It then relays that intelligence via ConnectedCosmos directly to relevant users, including firefighters or aircraft in the area, even where terrestrial internet is unavailable. The system could task additional satellites and draw on terrestrial IoT sensors to provide further information and cross-check what is happening on the ground. If terrestrial communications were disrupted, ConnectedCosmos could also provide resilient 5G connectivity to teams responding to the emergency. By combining sensing, connectivity and AI into a single system, governments and enterprises can monitor, understand and respond to events on Earth in near real time.” 

Rafel Jorda Siquier, founder and CEO of Open Cosmos, stated: “Space infrastructure is becoming as critical as energy, digital networks and transport. Governments and enterprises increasingly require secure communications and operational data delivered through resilient systems. But infrastructure alone isn’t enough. The real value comes from the intelligence that relays what’s happening on Earth in real time and the global connectivity to deliver it. By bringing together satellites, secure communications and AI-powered data services, we’re creating a system that transforms information from orbit into something that governments and enterprises can act on. This investment allows us to accelerate that vision, satisfying the satellite manufacturing orders that governments and large companies are placing for our reliable and high-performance satellites and delivering the sovereign services the world needs.”

Meanwhile, European satellite operator SES has expanded its collaboration with Elveo Mobile, the joint venture of Lynk and Omnispace that is backed by SES, to “accelerate delivery of direct-to-device (D2D) services in Europe,” it announced. 

 “SES will leverage Elveo’s patented, proven and cost-effective D2D technology to enable seamless mobile roaming capabilities for European consumers, businesses, governments, institutional, and defense users,” the Luxembourg-based company added.  

SES and Elveo Mobile will team up to establish manufacturing capabilities and a supply chain in Europe for the production of LEO D2D satellites based on Elveo’s “patented D2D satellite bus, payload and software technology stack”. 

Those LEO D2D satellites will “form part of a unique multi-orbit architecture, combining Elveo’s LEO D2D network with SES’s geostationary (GEO) and medium-earth orbit (MEO) networks capable of delivering secure and reliable connectivity to European governments and institutions, including NATO. European customers also stand to benefit from SES’s global distribution of Elveo’s D2D services, which use Elveo’s high-priority 2 GHz S-band spectrum rights and a global market access footprint currently covering more than 1 billion people,” it added. 

However, no timeline was provided for the deployment of the LEO satellites or the availability of the Elveo-enabled D2D services, with SES’s CEO Adel Al-Saleh stating only that “working with our partner Elveo will help bring critical D2D services to European customers on the timeline they demand.”

If they demand it next month, though, they’ll be out of luck, or need to turn to Starlink Mobile, which is already providing D2D service connectivity to Virgin Media O2 in the UK, and next year they should also be able to tap into services provided by Satellite Connect Europe, the joint venture between Vodafone and AST SpaceMobile. 

- Ray Le Maistre, Editorial Director, TelecomTV