Freezz Italia has been awarded a contract by the European Space Agency (ESA), as prime contractor leading a European industrial consortium, for the Consolidation Phase of the IRIS² Low-LEO Pre-Operational and De-Risk Activities, part of the ESA Programme Related to EU Secure Connectivity.
The activity will further mature Friisat, Freezz’s satellite system architecture conceived specifically for operation in Very Low Earth Orbit (VLEO) and designed for future broadband Direct-to-Device (D2D) connectivity within the 3GPP 5G/6G Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN) framework.
Under this ESA contract, Freezz Italia will consolidate the mission and system architecture, adapting Friisat’s existing commercial design to meet the requirements of an IRIS²-compatible solution, including future governmental broadband Direct-To-Device secure-connectivity services. The work will address the system and service concepts, architecture and interfaces, security, service-validation strategy, and the roadmap towards potential subsequent implementation and in-orbit demonstration.
Operating closer to Earth provides a more favourable link budget for direct communication with terrestrial user devices, an important consideration for future broadband D2D services where the capabilities of the user terminal represent a fundamental constraint. VLEO operation can also provide reduced radiation exposure compared with higher LEO orbits.
This contract award follows Freezz’s earlier Friisat development activity supported by the Agency’s Advanced Research in Telecommunications Systems (ARTES) programme.. The Consolidation Phase builds on that commercial baseline to advance Friisat towards pre-operational validation and in-orbit demonstration. For Freezz as a group, it opens a new governmental secure-connectivity market alongside Friisat’s existing commercial business.
The Consolidation Phase gives Freezz Italia a framework to test Friisat’s system and service concepts against the requirements that will ultimately shape the operational IRIS² system — the first formal step on a path towards pre-operational validation and in-orbit demonstration.
Freezz Italia statement
This ESA contract validates our Friisat constellation as a credible European approach to broadband Direct-to-Device connectivity, and expands it from a pure proprietary commercial solution to a funded, ESA-reviewed development path. It positions Freezz Italia to compete for the pre-operational and in-orbit demonstration work that follows — and to do so as an Italian and European industrial contributor to IRIS². For Freezz, this is the clearest signal yet that our VLEO D2D approach has a genuine place in Europe’s secure connectivity ambitions.
Ferdinando Tiezzi, CEO, Freezz Italia
Towards pre-operational validation
The IRIS² Low-LEO Pre-Operational and De-Risk Activities form part of the ESA Programme Related to EU Secure Connectivity. They are intended to establish a structured pathway for the maturation and de-risking of services and associated system concepts prior to their potential integration into the operational EU IRIS² system.
The Consolidation Phase builds on Friisat’s existing commercial architecture, bridging it towards an IRIS²-compatible solution that addresses governmental secure-connectivity requirements. A subsequent Implementation Phase, subject to a separate procurement process, is intended to progress system concepts towards pre-operational objectives and in-orbit validation.
A European industrial team
Freezz Italia gratefully acknowledges the contribution of the industrial and technology partners supporting the development of Friisat.
The programme brings together specialist expertise from Almatech, Celeste Space, Celeste Technologies, Gradiant, IngeniArs, Maiolini Space, Nautilus, RF Microtech and SpacePNT, together with the wider Freezz group, whose technologies and engineering capabilities contribute to the development and maturation of the overall Friisat system.
Freezz Italia thanks all partners for their commitment and contribution to this important milestone in the development of Friisat.
About Friisat
Friisat is Freezz’s VLEO satellite system architecture designed for broadband Direct-to-Device connectivity within the 3GPP 5G/6G Non-Terrestrial Network framework.
The system, conceived to augment the capabilities of Terrestrial Network from space, combines operation in Very Low Earth Orbit with a highly integrated spacecraft and telecommunications architecture. Its lower orbital altitude provides a favourable link budget for direct broadband communication with terrestrial user devices and reduced radiation exposure compared with higher LEO orbits.
The Friisat telecommunications architecture is designed around the integration of terrestrial and non-terrestrial mobile networks, targeting broadband D2D services and the evolution from 5G NTN towards future 6G networks.
Friisat is conceived as a scalable architecture supporting rapid technology evolution and recurrent deployment, with the objective of bringing satellite broadband connectivity increasingly closer to the architecture, standards and user experience of terrestrial mobile networks.
About Freezz
Freezz is a high-tech Europe-based industrial group with headquarters in Switzerland and technology and operations centers in Italy and Spain. Freezz group leads the European industrial consortium developing Friisat.
Freezz is providing connectivity services and developing original integrated satellite and terrestrial solutions for global broadband access. Its portfolio includes Friisat and Friilink, an integrated connectivity platform for fleets of passengers and goods transportation that combines onboard satellite and terrestrial broadband connectivity with telematics, route optimisation and digital advertising services for transport operators. The Friilink business is active in Spain, Italy, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, with further expansion underway across other European and non-European markets.
Freezz Italia
Freezz Italia is a space technology company focused on the development of advanced satellite systems and technologies for telecommunications and Low-Earth-orbit applications.
The company develops satellite architectures, subsystems and technologies for next-generation space telecommunications, with particular emphasis on VLEO systems, broadband Direct-to-Device communications and 3GPP 5G/6G Non-Terrestrial Networks.
For the IRIS2-LowLEO framework, Freezz Italia acts as prime contractor for the ESA contract described in this release leading the group of the Friisat industrial partners in the consolidation activity.
About ESA Programme Related to EU Secure Connectivity
Led by the European Commission, IRIS² is a bold endeavour to build a space-based secure and resilient connectivity network that elevates Europe’s strategic autonomy and competitiveness. In cooperation with the European Commission, the European Space Agency (ESA) plays a key role in IRIS² by overseeing the technical development and validation of the constellation and its ground infrastructure – delivered by the SpaceRISE consortium.
ESA’s involvement on IRIS² will be implemented through the ESA Programme Related to EU Secure Connectivity. Within this programme, the IRIS² Low-LEO Pre-Operational and De-Risk Activities components provide a rapid and recurrent mechanism for validating new governmental services and associated mission concepts in orbit, supporting their maturation and later integration into the operational EU IRIS² baseline.
Ultimately, these Activities will contribute to the continued evolution and enhancement of IRIS2 services and capabilities, supporting Europe’s long-term leadership in space.
Learn more at: https://resilience.esa.int/esa-programme-related-to-eu-secure-connectivity-and-iris%C2%B2