IRIS² links EU spectrum policy to sovereign satellite connectivity:

The EC’s proposed allocation of the 2 GHz mobile-satellite-services band complements IRIS², the EU’s secure-connectivity program. One-third of the spectrum would be assigned to a European operator providing governmental services—security, critical communications, and defense—with a requirement to integrate with present and future IRIS² capabilities. Together, the initiatives seek to strengthen Europe-controlled satellite infrastructure and reduce reliance on non-European systems.

IRIS² is designed primarily for secure governmental connectivity, including defense, crisis response, civil protection, and critical-infrastructure users. The SpaceRISE concession—led by Eutelsat, SES, and Hispasat—also permits commercial use of shared infrastructure. The planned multi-orbit architecture combines LEO and MEO satellites to provide resilience, coverage, and broadband capacity.

3GPP 5G NR-NTN alignment:

IRIS² is intended to use 3GPP 5G NR non-terrestrial-network (NTN) technology in the space, ground, and user-terminal segments. At the March 2025 3GPP RAN#107 plenary, industry participants described IRIS² as a multi-orbit Ku-/Ka-band broadband constellation adopting 5G NR-NTN specifications; the expected benefits are interoperability with terrestrial mobile networks, multi-vendor terminal support, and a broader equipment ecosystem.

The relevant 3GPP baseline NTN specs include:

• Release 17 NR-NTN, which introduced foundational 5G NR satellite support, including architecture and radio adaptations for long propagation delay, Doppler shift, satellite ephemeris/UE location assistance, timing advance, and HARQ operation. The principal study and solutions specifications are 3GPP TR 38.811 and TR 38.821.

• 3GPP TS 38.300, the NR overall-description specification, which defines NTN architectural support; TS 38.331, which specifies RRC signaling needed for NTN-related configuration and assistance information.

• 3GPP TS 38.101-5, which defines NR user-equipment RF requirements for satellite/NTN operation. For Ka-band VSAT-type terminals, this includes NTN bands such as n510, n511, and n512, with downlink spectrum in the 17.7–20.2 GHz range and uplink spectrum extending into the 27.5–30 GHz range, depending on band.

• Release 18 5G-Advanced NTN enhancements, including further NR-NTN performance and mobility enhancements, as well as expanded satellite spectrum support. Release 18 added NTN band n254 alongside the Release 17 n255 and n256 L-/S-band options.

3GPP Release 19 gives IRIS² a more capable 5G-Advanced NTN standards baseline, but it does not redefine the programme’s core sovereign-connectivity mission or its already-selected multi-orbit architecture. Its practical role is to enable a more interoperable evolution of IRIS² user terminals, gateways, and potentially onboard processing as the constellation is deployed from 2029 onward. Release 19 was frozen in 2026, making it a stable implementation target rather than only a work-in-progress specification.

For IRIS², the most relevant Release 19 NTN enhancements are:

• Regenerative-payload support. Release 19 supports an NTN architecture in which a complete 5G gNB may be hosted onboard a satellite, rather than using only a transparent bent-pipe payload. This can reduce dependence on feeder-link and gateway availability, improve latency for certain paths, and enable more flexible routing and service continuity—important attributes for resilient governmental communications.

• NR-NTN Phase 3 enhancements. These build on the Release 17 and 18 foundations for NR satellite access, addressing NTN mobility, access, capacity, and performance issues associated with high Doppler, long propagation delay, and fast-moving LEO satellites.

• GNSS-independent operation and positioning. Release 19 work includes support for UE access when GNSS is unavailable, as well as positioning enhancements for satellite-only access. Those capabilities have clear relevance for emergency, defence, and resilience use cases where GNSS availability may be degraded, denied, or unreliable.

• Enhanced IoT NTN. Release 19 adds store-and-forward operation, IoT-NTN TDD capability, public-warning support, and uplink-capacity improvements. These can support lower-power, delay-tolerant sensing and asset-monitoring applications across critical infrastructure, transport, energy, and remote areas.

• Additional NTN spectrum support. Release 19 expands the 3GPP NR-NTN band portfolio, including Ku-band-related work and additional S- and L-band options. This is relevant to the evolution of IRIS² terminals and complementary mobile-satellite services, although the IRIS² broadband layers principally use Ku and military Ka-band spectrum.

IRIS² can use Release 19 to move beyond basic satellite backhaul or proprietary broadband toward a standards-based 5G NTN platform with greater integration into terrestrial 5G networks. Standardization should support multi-vendor terminals, common modem and protocol ecosystems, roaming/interworking possibilities, and a less proprietary ground-segment architecture.

IRIS² has publicly committed to adoption of the 3GPP 5G NR-NTN specification family, but the precise release profile and the definitive set of normative TS requirements for each satellite, gateway, and terminal have not yet been publicly detailed. It would therefore be more accurate to describe the programme as 3GPP 5G NR-NTN-aligned than to assert blanket compliance with every specification or band.

Competitive and regulatory context:

The initiative has drawn U.S. regulatory attention. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr suggested that European restrictions on U.S. satellite operators could invite reciprocal treatment in the United States, while SpaceX has reportedly asked the FCC to examine Eutelsat’s planned constellation expansion.

Luke Pearce of FDM CCS Insight said that Starlink’s use in Ukraine illustrates why the EU seeks a non-U.S.-dependent secure-connectivity capability:

“Ukraine’s use of Starlink on the front line has highlighted how important satellite communications will be in future warfare. The EU is understandably keen not to be reliant on its US partners for this capability.”

Pearce doubts the project can catch up to Starlink, or even Amazon’s planned rollout. IRIS² has been “marred by significant uncertainty and scrutiny” since it was announced in November 2022, and “at times, the project has appeared destined to fail,” he said. Initial services were supposed to launch in 2024. Now, the full system is likely to arrive in 2030 or later, he explained.

“It is therefore materially behind Starlink and will almost certainly remain so. By the time IRIS² is operational, SpaceX will have moved through further generations of satellites, terminals and services. Amazon Leo will also be a much more established competitor. Using standardized technology should broaden the equipment ecosystem, improve interoperability with terrestrial networks and ultimately bring costs down. However, 5G NTN is not a silver bullet. Standardization alone will not overcome the US’s enormous lead in satellite manufacturing, launch capabilities, terminals and overall scale,” said Pearce.

Conclusions:

IRIS² is materially behind Starlink in deployed constellation scale, launch capacity, terminals, and service maturity. Standardized 5G NR-NTN can improve interoperability and reduce ecosystem fragmentation, but it cannot independently offset those scale advantages. IRIS² should therefore be assessed chiefly as a European sovereign-connectivity and resilience program, rather than as a like-for-like retail broadband challenger to Starlink or Amazon Leo.

3GPP Release 19 provides an important 5G-Advanced NTN evolution path for IRIS². In addition to Release 17/18 NR-NTN baseline capabilities, Release 19 introduces support for regenerative satellite payloads, enhanced LEO mobility and access procedures, GNSS-independent operation, improved positioning, and expanded IoT-NTN functions including store-and-forward delivery. These features could improve the resilience, interoperability, and terrestrial-network integration of later IRIS² system increments.

The applicable ITU-R NTN satellite Recommendation is currently ITU-R M.2177-0 (February 2026), Detailed specifications of the satellite radio interfaces of IMT-2020. It identifies the “3GPP 5G-NTN: RIT” and “3GPP 5G-NTN: SRIT” as the IMT-2020 satellite radio interfaces. The Recommendation explicitly covers NR-NTN and IoT-NTN and points to 3GPP global core specifications rather than reproducing the full 3GPP technical corpus.

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