Eutelsat projects $11 billion revenue from EU satellite network

Eutelsat expects commercial services revenue to exceed €10 billion ($11.1 billion) between 2032 and 2040. This growth is driven by the company’s leading role in the European Union’s IRIS² network, a planned low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite internet service designed to provide an alternative to SpaceX’s Starlink.

The Franco-British operator will lead the LEO segment of the IRIS² network, which is set to feature 330 satellites. The first launches are scheduled for 2029, with services expected to begin in 2030. Eutelsat’s current backlog includes €8.9 billion in revenue from the design and construction of IRIS², to be recognized primarily between 2027 and 2031.

To support this expansion, Eutelsat plans to invest €3.39 billion in shared and commercial infrastructure on the IRIS² network between 2027 and 2034. This move aims to offset declining video broadcasting revenue by pivoting toward satellite internet services via its subsidiary, OneWeb.

Despite the long-term positive outlook, Eutelsat reported that first-quarter revenue fell 2.1% like-for-like to €278.3 million for the three months ending in September, missing analyst expectations.