Portugal’s Meo and Thales bid to host EU IRIS² gateways

Portugal’s Meo and Thales will submit a joint bid this month, through the Portuguese Space Agency, to become a satellite gateway supplier for the consortium developing IRIS2, the European satellite constellation designed to provide a secure regional alternative to non-European networks. The two companies want to provide gateway services from the teleport facilities they manage in Alfouvar, near Sintra, and in Santa Maria, in the Azores. Ana Carla Sousa, senior director at Meo Wholesale Solutions, told ECO/eRadar that Alfouvar would be the main teleport and Santa Maria the secondary one, adding that the application would be delivered to the Portuguese Space Agency by the end of this week for the national submission.