Secure and global satellite communications increase national security of supply

Due to digitalization, the changed geopolitical situation and cyber and hybrid threats the need for secure and global communications connections has increased. 

In 2023, the European Union launched the Union Secure Connectivity Programme to respond to these current and future challenges. The IRIS² satellite system will provide secure communications services for the EU and its Member States as well as commercial broadband connections in Europe and strategically important geographical areas such as the Arctic and Africa.

The Secure Connectivity Programme promotes the digital transformation of the EU. The programme focuses on the multi-orbit IRIS² satellite system, which aims to improve the resilience, connectivity and security of communication connections. If implemented, IRIS² will enable high-speed and secure connectivity by the end of the decade. The aim is to ensure that EU Member States have secure, sovereign and global coverage services that meet their operational needs, such as critical infrastructure protection, external relations and border control.
 

The new satellite system would strengthen society's crisis resilience

Finland is dependent on terrestrial information networks. Well-functioning communications connections form the foundation of modern society. The functioning of communications connections may be threatened for several reasons. Natural phenomena, such as storms, may cause interruptions in terrestrial connections. On the other hand, there is also a risk of intentional human-induced threats, such as cyber attacks and wars. In Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, for example, communications connections were destroyed and replaced with a commercial Starlink service.

As the global situation has changed, Finland must also prepare for identified and unidentified threats. For example, the Virve 2 enables broadband mobile services for public safety authorities and other organisations critical for security supply and society. The reliability of communications connections has also been improved through commercial satellite services. At the moment, however, there are challenges in preparedness. The security and reliability of commercial satellite services cannot be fully relied on in official activities, and their coverage is also partly inadequate, especially in Eastern Finland.

If implemented, IRIS² will cover areas that have not previously had functioning communications connections. Global connections are ensured through multi-orbit satellite constellation combining the benefits of low, high and medium orbit satellites. IRIS² would strengthen Finland's national security and society's resilience to crisis through secure and global communications connections.
 

Several user groups would benefit from the new satellite system

A national preliminary study on user groups and user needs has just begun. At the EU level, user needs and requirements were studied in a survey conducted by the ENTRUSTED project in 2021. Based on the report, the satellite communications services provided by the EU could be used in the protection of critical infrastructure, border and maritime surveillance, external relations and various crisis management operations. At this stage, authorities, critical infrastructure operators, Finnish missions and state leadership have been identified as user groups.

Responses to the 2021 user survey were received from around ten Finnish authorities and organisations. In recent years, the security situation in Europe has changed and we can assume that the need for secure satellite connections and awareness of them have increased. Organisations may have made their own decisions and procurements due to the growing need for preparedness, but the matter has not been coordinated at the national level.
 

Finland investigates the introduction of secure satellite connections

In April 2024, the Ministry of the Interior set up a project to find out how secure satellite communications connections can be taken into use in Finland and who would need them. The purpose of the project, which will last until the end of 2025, is to present a proposal on user needs, user groups, administration model and the necessary appropriations for the introduction and use of services.

Work on identifying user groups will begin after the summer. We have already identified several possible user groups, but not all needs are known yet. In addition to actors essential for critical infrastructure and security of supply, there are other potential public sector user groups in Finland that have not yet been identified and that are currently planning their own solutions. In order to plan a cost-effective and national solution, it would also be important to identify these user groups and involve them in the work.

Finland to study deployment of EU secure satellite communications  
 

Sources:
https://defence-industry-space.ec.europa.eu/ 
https://www.euspa.europa.eu/ 
https://entrusted.eu/  

Photo: Finnish Border Guard 

The column has also been published on the website of the Ministry of the Interior.