The European Commission now has a solid implementation plan for the EU's sovereign IRIS² satellite broadband service, which means it's now past planning stage and is moving towards full-scale deployment. It has just signed an agreement with European manufacturers, the European Space Agency (ESA) and other partners, following negotiations that started in January. Under the agreement, IRIS² will now have a constellation with 348 satellites, adding 66 more than the project originally intended in low Earth orbit. The additional satellites, the ESA says, will strengthen the constellation's capabilities for defense, security and emergency services. Compared to SpaceX's Starlink constellation, which has more than 10,000 active satellites, IRIS²'s network (as currently planned anyway) is tiny in comparison.