Eutelsat and French satellite startup Skynopy have launched Global AKAR, a software-defined ground infrastructure designed to deliver faster, high-capacity data services for current and future satellite constellations.
Unveiled at the International Space Summit in Paris, the platform combines Eutelsat’s global ground network with Skynopy’s software technology to support multi-mission constellations across the S, X and Ka-bands.
The partners aim to deploy 100 operational antennas by the end of 2029, providing real-time services for the growing Low Earth Orbit (LEO) market.
Global AKAR is designed to cut data latency to less than three minutes, compared with the current one-hour standard, while delivering throughput of up to 10Gb/s.
Partially supported by the French government, the project follows a successful three-antenna proof of concept for Earth Observation.
The infrastructure will also support in-orbit services, allowing satellites to transfer data more efficiently and interact with in-orbit computing capabilities.
Customers will be able to access a secure, high-capacity and globally distributed network without building and operating their own ground infrastructure, the partners said.
The system is also designed for defence and other sensitive applications through secure architecture and interfaces.
French President Emmanuel Macron described Global AKAR as a partnership between Eutelsat and Skynopy to address what he called the missing element of the space economy: the ground segment.
