GOVSATCOM in action – benefits of secure satellite connectivity showcased for everyone to explore

Date: April 12, 2023
Category: Press releases
Autor: Szymon Grych

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How to stay connected in case of a disaster or an armed conflict, when a terrestrial infrastructure is likely exposed to damage or malfunctions? How the satellite communication can effectively address the need to contact on a diplomatic level, when the lowest possible risk of interfering or capturing of the message is crucial? How do the EU CSDP military operations already rely on managing shared SatCom resources? How to deploy and use various types of terminals, and swiftly set up a satellite connection? Over 100 participants from 16 EU Member States and 11 EU institutions and agencies invited by the ENTRUSTED Consortium attended the showcase of GOVSATCOM services in action during a dedicated Live Demonstration Event in Rome on 2 March 2023. Now the demonstration resources are available for everyone on the ENTRUSTED website, representing key educational outputs, along with the e-learning platform.

The deployment of secure SatCom services in operational environment is presented for selected use cases based on national capabilities provided by Consortium members, in order to depict: 

  • a pooling and sharing service provision model, 
  • access to connectivity in remote areas, 
  • use of SatCom in crisis situations, 
  • high communication standards in terms of confidentiality, integrity and availability. 

Published materials cover four different operational scenarios, prepared and implemented by the ENTRUSTED Consortium members:

1. Assistance in case of disaster and armed conflict, by Luxembourg (Luxembourg Space Agency),
2. Secure communications for national diplomacy network, by Greece (Hellenic Ministry of Digital Governance and Ministry of Defence),
3. Access to GOVSATCOM services for military users, by European Defence Agency,
4. SatCom in emergency theatre, by Italy (Italian Space Agency) and Luxembourg (Luxembourg Space Agency).

Governmental Satellite Communications (GOVSATCOM) will soon support numerous security-related scenarios and missions undertaken by European governmental users in the areas of surveillance, crisis management and critical infrastructure. The GOVSATCOM component of the Union Space Programme will provide users with secure connectivity services to improve their operational capabilities and scenario awareness. First services will be offered in 2024. 

As explained by Giuditta Montesanti – Project/Programme Officer at DG Defence Industry and Space (DEFIS), the European Commission considers SatCom as key technology in the near future. Due to recurring and detrimental natural disasters observed in the EU territory and increased frequencies of crisis situations, as well as a dramatic increase in cyber security issues, governmental actors will need to rely on more secure service providers. ENTRUSTED project is perceived as the starting point of the journey aimed at understanding the needs of user communities regarding secure satellite communications. 

Flavio Sbardellati – Market Development Technology Officer at European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA), confirmed that information gathered form users in the scope of the project allowed for developing a better understanding of what GOVSATCOM services should be like and defined them accordingly. Demonstrations of satellite connectivity prepared by ENTRUSTED capitalise on work performed in the project. 

Demonstration videos and related presentations will also enrich the training content on ENTRUSTED e-learning platform, which is still available for anyone interested in developing skills or updating knowledge on fundaments of secure satellite communications. 

About ENTRUSTED
ENTRUSTED (European Networking for satellite Telecommunication Roadmap for the governmental Users requiring Secure, inTeroperable, innovativE and standardiseD services) is a European research project, coordinated by the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA), that aims at providing user perspective to the EU GOVSATCOM through an established cooperation of EU Member States representatives and EU agencies. ENTRUSTED will derive a prioritised set of user requirements for secure SatCom services and systems, as well as a user technology research and innovation roadmap.

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement No. 870330.

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