Lumino wins ARIA contract for Project Skybeam to design Sovereign Stratospheric Communications Architecture

Project Skybeam seeks to deploy sovereign communication services from the Stratosphere - 60,000 feet above the Earth’s surface.

Lumino Technologies has been awarded a £1 million contract by the Advanced Research + Invention Agency (ARIA)'s to develop an architecture utilising High-Altitude Platforms (HAPS) to deliver sovereign communication, positioning and timing services.

Operating in the stratosphere, HAPS offer a new infrastructure for delivering high-capability, resilient, secure services direct-to-devices. They have the potential to be a valuable addition to terrestrial and satellite networks, allowing ubiquitous sovereign deployments without a requirement to invest in full satellite constellations.

Project Skybeam seeks to integrate direct-to-device 5G connectivity, high-capacity laser links, complementary positioning services and precise timing distribution to support critical national services, and deliver commercially viable, sovereign complements to ground-based and space-based networks. The initiative will establish a design, deployment strategy and business case to promote commercial adoption and deliver capability in the high-altitude network infrastructure market with an initial focus on emergency and resilience scenarios.

Lumino will lead the project, supported by its partners: 6G Innovation Centre at the University of Surrey, Cranfield Aerospace Solutions, and Heriot-Watt University’s Integrated Quantum Networks Hub, with advisory input from telecom operators including BT Group and Vodafone.

Project Skybeam is part of ARIA’s Enduring Atmospheric Platforms (EAP) programme. This programmes is backed by £70 million over 3.5 years and funds 18 teams (R&D Creators) to develop the technologies, platforms and service architectures for next generation sovereign stratospheric capabilities. Programme success will mean a step-change in the ability to operate persistently in the stratosphere, creating a new infrastructure layer between the Earth and space to deliver connectivity to the UK and worldwide. More information about the programme is available here.

Omar Iqbal, CEO of Lumino Technologies, said, " Lumino is excited by the potential of HAPS to offer new generation of services. We aim to combine the HAPS developed under EAP with advanced mobile communications and our free-space optical and quantum networking technologies to develop integrated propositions that can sustainably meet the UK’s need for genuinely sovereign, high performance communication and PNT capability.”