Satellite breakthrough from Luxembourg: How OQ Technology plans to connect the world directly

Omar Qaise, founder and CEO of OQ Technology, has set himself the ambitious task of bridging the digital divide between cities and remote areas by directly connecting mobile phones to satellites in low earth orbit (LEO). He said 2.1 billion people in the world still do not have access to mobile phones and hundreds of millions experience disruptions when travelling outside cities. The project could be a real revolution in communications.

Against the backdrop of a global race to develop direct phone-to-satellite communications dominated by US players, OQ Technology is the only European company working in this area and is now the first from Luxembourg to receive EIC Accelerator support.

In one of the most competitive selections in EIC Accelerator history, among the 71 companies chosen in 2024, only four represented the space industry. OQ Technology's support was the "crown on top" of its endeavours, as Cayce himself put it. The company is to receive €2.5m in non-refundable support and up to €15m in investment, which will enable it to launch commercial pilot projects in the near future.

Developing 5G satellite-based 5G connectivity for the Internet of Things (IoT) since 2016, the company has had time to build up a solid track record, including a Tiger-1 mission in 2019 and 12 patents granted in Europe and the US.

According to Kais, satellite communication is not only about comfort, but also about saving lives: "During natural disasters, conventional networks collapse. Satellites remain the only means of communication. Studies show that reliable access to communications can reduce casualties by 50 per cent." He recalled the tragic consequences of losing connectivity during the fires in Greece in 2023 and the floods in Spain in 2024.

Investment in space infrastructure is expensive, and without mixed funding (private and public) it is difficult to succeed in Europe. Kais emphasises: "We need sovereign capital, as the US and leading European countries do. Investing in R&D alone will not build the space business - we need large-scale financing.

The company owes much of its achievement in the Horizon Europe programme to the national agency Luxinnovation, which assisted OQ Technology at all stages of the application process, including four training sessions with the 'jury' before the interview in Brussels. This allowed the startup to best demonstrate the innovation, feasibility and impact of the project, three key criteria for the EIC evaluation.

The funding is not yet finalised - OQ Technology is looking for a lead investor to share in the equity portion of the investment and is ready to begin pilot deployment of the solutions as soon as the agreement is signed.

"We're not about hype - we're about results," Kais emphasises. His company has become a leader in one of the most strategically important and technologically challenging areas where Europe's lagging behind could be costly. Therefore, OQ Technology is not just a start-up from Luxembourg, but a key element in the future digital and geopolitical sustainability of Europe.