In the latest move demonstrating the strength of the European space communications industry, French satellite operator Eutelsat has announced a potential capital increase of €1.35bn.
This news comes among a flurry of other recent advancements in space communications, such as Kyivstar gaining approval to conduct testing of Starlink direct-to-cell (D2C) services in Ukraine, and Constellation Technologies and Operations’ reveal of the imminent launch of a regenerative 5G mmWave payload.
Eutelsat said that gaining such a capital increase would represent a pivotal step in its strategic and financial roadmap, enabling the execution of its overall vision. Specifically, the financing would be used to accelerate its deleveraging and to support investment in its existing low Earth orbit (LEO) capabilities and the future IRIS² constellation.
Eutelsat’s LEO network will “provide secure, low-latency, high-speed broadband with global coverage”. It is already operational across multiple regions, and it is designed to deliver connectivity in areas where terrestrial infrastructure is limited or unavailable.
The service looks to address connectivity demands across applications including maritime, aviation, enterprise and government networks. Earlier in June 2025, Eutelsat was granted a regulatory licence for the deployment of its OneWeb’s LEO satellite across South Korea’s maritime, military, government and enterprise markets.
The European Union’s multi-orbit IRIS² constellation is regarded as potentially representing a step towards establishing a secure, resilient and autonomous communications infrastructure for Europe. It has the stated aim of reinforcing Europe’s resilience, digital sovereignty and low-latency connectivity for all EU member states.
Eutelsat won a commission to design, deliver and operate the IRIS² connectivity system in October 2024, with full operational status targeted for the early 2030s.
Outlining the importance of the investment, Eutelsat said the emergence of LEO systems, from both a technological and industrial, has brought satellite communications into a new era, delivering affordable and ubiquitous connectivity at scale, with unprecedented customer experience.
It added that this will unlock a “huge” market potential, from bridging the digital divide across all customer segments on a global basis, to unlocking numerous new use cases, such as mobility over land, sea and air.
The company stressed that barriers to entry into LEO – in particular access to, and the requirement to share spectrum secured by Eutelsat – mean only a limited number of players will participate in the massive growth ahead, creating compelling conditions for value creation.
Eutelsat said that it was one of only two global operators with active commercial LEO fleets and was the only one exclusively focused on the B2B and B2G markets. It added that it was the only geostationary Earth orbit (GEO)-LEO operator, and the only European operator with a fully operational LEO network, uniquely positioned to capture the momentum in the connectivity market.
The company stated that it would build on its operations improvements, such as hosted payloads; additional deployment of satellite network portals; a differentiated go-to-market model, focused on B2B/B2G; and its GEO-LEO offering.
“Eutelsat [has entered] a new chapter, centred on the deployment of LEO, a major innovative and technological revolution for the Satellite industry,” said Eutelsat Group CEO Jean-François Fallacher.
“Thanks to its differentiated GEO-LEO positioning and global coverage, Eutelsat is ready to become a central player in the development of the European sovereign space of tomorrow. I welcome the contemplated capital increase which will give Eutelsat the requisite financing to implement its strategic roadmap.
“I am grateful for the support of the French State and the ongoing commitment of our other anchor shareholders – Bharti, CMA CGM and FSP – and thank them for their confidence.”
