Open Cosmos is building Europe’s backup data path above undersea cables

Open Cosmos, a UK-based space company, has a very specific clock running: by 2028, it needs to field an ambitious broadband constellation for Europe. According to SpaceNews, the system, called ConnectedCosmos, is intended as an orbital layer that could help Europe reduce reliance on undersea cables. That is not a minor ambition. Undersea cables carry much of the world’s internet traffic, but they are physical, exposed infrastructure, geopolitically sensitive and difficult to repair when something goes wrong.

That makes this story more than another constellation announcement. Open Cosmos is positioning itself at the intersection of satellite manufacturing, data services and Europe’s demand for more resilient connectivity. ConnectedCosmos reads as an attempt to bring the Internet of Things, remote sensors, industrial systems and regional communications into a space-based layer that is not fully dependent on terrestrial or subsea networks.

The central question is not whether such an architecture can sound convincing in a presentation. It can. The harder question is execution. A constellation requires satellites, launches, frequency coordination, ground stations, user equipment, data operations and a business model that still makes sense before the deadline turns into a marketing artifact. A 2028 target is close enough to expose the difference between a space strategy and a working service.

The European context raises the pressure. The European Union is already pushing for more secure and sovereign connectivity through programs such as IRIS², while industry is trying to find room between the commercial broadband market and public-sector demand for resilient communications. Based on the supplied source atoms, ConnectedCosmos is not being framed simply as a copy of the largest global megaconstellations. Its emphasis is European use, IoT and reduced dependence on cable infrastructure.

That may be a sensible niche. Orbital IoT does not always need the same throughput as consumer satellite internet, but it does need reliability, coverage and a price that can justify large-scale deployment. If the goal is to connect distributed sensors, logistics networks, energy infrastructure or industrial sites, the value is not spectacle. The value is getting the data packet through when it matters. That is where Open Cosmos will need to prove that ConnectedCosmos is not just a European resilience slogan, but an operational network with a clear service layer.

For TECH&SPACE, the most important signal is the deadline. 2028 is not a distant horizon in the satellite industry. It is effectively the current development cycle: design, manufacturing, launch, testing and commercialization. If Open Cosmos can close that loop, ConnectedCosmos could become a relevant European layer for orbital IoT and more resilient connectivity. If it slips, it will be another reminder that space infrastructure is not created by strategic need alone. It is created by disciplined delivery.