ICS Holding's entity may get 9.35 bln rubles from Russian budget in 2024 for broadband Internet access project

MOSCOW. June 4 (Interfax) - A project by the Bureau 1440 space company, which is a part of ICS Holding, aimed at offering broadband satellite Internet access may receive 9.35 billion rubles from the Russian budget in 2024, draft amendments to the 2024 federal budget and the 2025-2026 planning period show.

These budget allocations will help begin financing steps to procure necessary materials, such as component parts and raw materials, that are key to creating 66 satellites and putting them into orbit in 2025 as part of steps to deploy the company's 288-satellite constellation, an explanatory note to the bill said.

Bureau 1440, formerly MegaFon 1440, is a Russian private space company founded in November 2020. Its goal is to offer commercial broadband Internet access by using a low-orbit constellation of satellites.

Bureau 1440 intends to put the service into commercial operation in 2027. The company said earlier that it plans to launch 10-12 rockets, each carrying some 15 satellites, a year starting from 2025. The company plans to build and launch more than 900 low-orbit satellites by 2035.

Bureau 1440 earlier launched six satellites as part of two experimental missions in June 2023 and in May 2024. The company also completed the first series of tests of a laser inter-satellite communication system of its own development in May.