• SES and Elveo plan to establish European manufacturing capability and a supply chain for low-Earth-orbit direct-to-device satellites
  • The expanded partnership also covers mobile roaming, but no European factory location, production volume or manufacturing timetable has been announced

The fact

SES and Elveo Mobile said on 15 September that they are expanding their direct-to-device partnership in Europe to include mobile roaming and the manufacture of low-Earth-orbit satellites. The companies plan to establish European manufacturing capability and a regional supply chain using Elveo's satellite bus, payload and software technology. SES also intends to combine Elveo's LEO direct-to-device network with its own geostationary and medium-Earth-orbit systems.

The agreement follows SES's expanded investment and collaboration with Elveo in August, after Lynk and Omnispace merged to form the company. Elveo has separately said it plans a 320-satellite LEO constellation, with deployment starting in the fourth quarter of 2027 and commercial services targeted for 2028.

The assessment

The new work puts spacecraft production alongside the spectrum, roaming and network-integration tasks already sitting inside the SES-Elveo relationship. Elveo has a 320-satellite deployment plan, so the European manufacturing programme now needs to show how many of those spacecraft it can supply and whether production can ramp in time for launches beginning in late 2027.

Building satellites in Europe does not by itself put a D2D service on mobile phones. Spacecraft still have to be completed and launched, while mobile operators need roaming integration and regulators must authorise the spectrum and service in individual markets.

For BTW readers, the next step is to connect the manufacturing announcement to Elveo's deployment schedule. A named production site, output rate and launch allocation would show how much of the planned constellation Europe is expected to build and whether that capacity can support the 2027 rollout.

What to watch

Watch for a European manufacturing site, production volumes and the first spacecraft orders tied to Elveo's 320-satellite programme. Launch contracts and named mobile-operator trials will show whether the industrial work is keeping pace with the planned late-2027 deployment, while national approvals will determine where those satellites can support commercial D2D service.