Rivada Space Networks aims to deliver gigabit-speed internet globally bypassing the public internet and third-party infrastructure, including on the ground. The project rests on a constellation of 600 LEO satellites, test launches for which will begin next year. With full delivery expected by the end of 2027, it has already secured $16bn in contracts, most recently from the US Navy.

“The most important thing we’re doing is providing governments and enterprises with a truly sovereign alternative to legacy infrastructure — not just more encryption, but a physical network they can control. What we call the Outernet is a mesh of satellites with inter-satellite links and ground stations that gives entities complete command over how and where their data travels. That’s become massively important — especially in the Middle East.”

As data sovereignty, infrastructure resilience and trusted communications take centre stage in the Middle East at CABSAT, CCO Ronald van der Breggen speaks about how the company’s Outernet architecture fits into the regional landscape, where it differs from consumer LEO constellations, and why it sees itself not as a competitor to terrestrial telcos, but their most resilient ally.

As geopolitical tensions rise and sabotage of undersea communications cables becomes a critical issue, telecommunication companies and major globally dispersed enterprise businesses are seeking a secure, fail proof communications infrastructure, and that's driving them to the Outernet.

There’s a growing recognition that governments and large enterprises need alternative paths of connectivity, Rivada Space Networks CEO Declan Ganley says. In a recent conversation with Via Satellite, Ganley says Rivada’s “time has come” as recent undersea cable attacks in the Baltic Sea and off the coast of Taiwan highlight the need for data sovereignty and data resiliency.

Over the past few years, subsea internet cables have been disrupted multiple times, and Western governments have pointed the finger at Chinese and Russian ships. Bad news for global comms, but good news for Rivada. “If there is a targeted attack on it to take down the internet, this is the only thing on a global basis that will keep operating,” Declan Ganley, Rivada’s Chairman and CEO, told Payload.

Unlike other satellite constellations partially dependent on fiber interconnected ground stations, the Outernet moves data across a high-capacity, totally private, and secure optically interlinked satellite network, never touching the ground. Outernet users access its satellite network directly via inter-company terminals, ensuring absolute security and protection from terrestrial fiber disruption.

A GSOA webinar produced in association with SpaceBQ, featuring Rivada’s Chief Commercial Officer, Ronald van der Breggen.

The discussion centred on the key drivers of development and innovation in the satellite industry, emphasising that customer needs are the main motivators. This reflects a shift from prioritising throughput to enhancing resilience. Panellists noted a transition from simply reducing launch and satellite costs to leveraging these technologies to create profitable business models.

In Germany, the current lack of innovation and the fear of a dwindling economic power play a major role. But there is hope: A strong space cluster has been developing Bavaria for years, enabling new innovations. This article was published in ‘Starkes Land Bayern’. This is a regional business magazine that appears twice a year as a supplement in the Bavarian edition of Europe's highest-circulation news magazine DER SPIEGEL.