Europe is investing billions in autonomous satellite infrastructure. Experts at space laser communications firm Astrolight argue the investment misses a foundational requirement: the optical connectivity layer that would make those satellites competitive.
The European Commission has moved to prioritise European operators in direct-to-device spectrum allocation. Germany has announced €35 billion in defence space investment. IRIS², the planned European sovereign constellation, is under development. But without widespread deployment of optical inter-satellite links and optical ground stations, these programmes deliver infrastructure that still relies on conventional radio-frequency communications — slower, more congested, and harder to secure than the laser-based systems Starlink already uses.
"If Starlink remains the only widely available commercial space network using optical communications, European operators will inevitably turn to it for superior speeds and data security. Optical data transfer stopped being a next-gen technology for specialised missions and is now becoming a matter of strategic and market advantage."
— Laurynas Mačiulis, CEO, Astrolight
The gap matters at scale. According to Novaspace, global satellite connectivity demand will increase more than eleven times between 2024 and 2034. Less than 10% of data generated in orbit currently reaches Earth, largely because conventional downlink bandwidth and radio-frequency spectrum are already constrained. Optical communication uses narrow, focused beams of light that achieve data transfer rates up to 100 times higher than radio, are harder to jam or intercept, and reduce dependence on licensed spectrum where operators face regulatory delays and interference bottlenecks.
"IRIS² and HydRON are important steps, but for optical communication to move from individual programmes to a comprehensive and resilient communications backbone, Europe must also build the industrial and commercial layer around them: proliferated inter-satellite optical links, optical ground stations, and user-segment technologies at scale. This infrastructure will enable real-time, secure data transfer from space to ground, supporting faster decision-making and emergency response, stronger defence capabilities, and commercial services with higher operational and economic value."
— Dalius Petrulionis, CTO, Astrolight
Astrolight joined a Kepler Communications-led team in April 2026 to provide its ATLAS-X laser communication terminal for ESA's HydRON programme. HydRON is intended as a multi-orbit optical data transport network supporting 6G connectivity and next-generation secure space communications.
A Centre for European Policy Studies report earlier this year described Europe's space ecosystem as highly capable but dispersed, struggling to scale in areas including secure connectivity. Mačiulis argues the talent and technical foundations are in place; the remaining step is building the optical layer as the constellation scales, not after it.
Mačiulis put it plainly: the talent and technical foundations are in place. "The next step is making sure that, as Europe's sovereign space architecture scales, the optical communication layer scales with it. That is how European critical and commercial users can get a competitive alternative to foreign space connectivity services."
To stay across the latest in cloud, AI and enterprise tech analysis from Compare the Cloud, subscribe to our weekly newsletter at https://www.comparethecloud.net/newsletter
