Cailabs launches OGSaaS to turn optical ground stations into shared service infrastructure
Global deeptech company Cailabs is launching Optical Ground Station-as-a-Service, or OGSaaS by Cailabs, a new service model designed to make optical ground communications accessible as shared infrastructure.
As satellites generate increasing volumes of data, the ground segment is becoming a critical bottleneck. Radio-frequency links remain essential, but they face limits in bandwidth and increasingly congested spectrum. Optical communications can provide much higher data rates without requiring radio-frequency spectrum licences, while their narrow beams can make links harder to intercept or jam. Yet building, operating and maintaining a dedicated network of optical ground stations requires significant specialist expertise, time and capital.
OGSaaS by Cailabs will allow satellite operators to use optical communications without building a complete ground network or developing specialist expertise in-house. Capacity will be available directly from Cailabs or through established ground-segment providers, using service, dedicated infrastructure or hybrid models.
The service marks a shift from individual optical ground stations toward an integrated service infrastructure. Cailabs will invest in and operate shared optical ground capacity, combining its own deployments with selected partner locations, colocation opportunities and shared assets. This will allow customers to adopt optical communications without first carrying the cost and complexity of building a complete network, while complementing existing ground-segment infrastructure, including radio-frequency teleports.
Cailabs is bringing together partners across the optical ground ecosystem to explore how OGSaaS by Cailabs can be developed and scaled. The company is exploring demand for high-capacity optical services with satellite operators such as Kepler Communications and Endurosat, as well as deployment, colocation, distribution and resale models with ground-segment and infrastructure providers including Leaf Space, RBC Signals, Contec and Skynopy.
Together, these partnerships are intended to make optical capacity available both through Cailabs and through partners’ existing service offerings, giving their customers access to high-capacity optical communications without having to build or operate dedicated optical ground infrastructure themselves.
Cailabs plans to build an initial international OGSaaS network of around 15 optical ground stations, including at least four sites in the United States. The locations are being selected based on customer needs, weather diversity, geographic coverage and partner infrastructure. Initial use cases will include data-intensive missions such as Earth observation, satellite communications, and defence or sovereign applications, with the infrastructure designed to support future needs requiring frequent, secure and high-capacity space-to-ground data transfer.
OGSaaS by Cailabs will draw on selected existing and partner-supported stations, alongside new deployments. Cailabs has deployed six operational optical ground stations, including Rennes in France, the Perth area in Australia, Jeju Island in South Korea, and three sites in Greece, with more than ten stations under contract. Several existing and partner-supported deployments are expected to help form the first layer of OGSaaS by Cailabs, while the broader footprint demonstrates Cailabs’ ability to design, deploy and operate optical ground stations across different geographies and customer environments.
The company has also gained experience providing optical communications services through multiple contracts, including SES and Space Development Agency (SDA). These references demonstrate Cailabs’ ability to deliver optical communication capability as a service, while OGSaaS by Cailabs extends that experience toward a broader, multi-site infrastructure model.
Cailabs has established repeatable bidirectional optical links with an SDA-standard terminal since November 2024, with routine satellite passes conducted throughout 2025. Cailabs’ optical ground station in Rennes now supports up to ten satellite passes per day, demonstrating the ability to sustain recurring operations. Cailabs delivers its stations as turnkey systems, integrating the equipment, software and operational services required to run them, including its patented atmospheric turbulence compensation technology.
Cailabs was selected for investment through the European Innovation Council’s Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (EIC STEP) Scale Up scheme. The investment will help fund the launch of OGSaaS by Cailabs and the deployment of the first phase of the network.
Jean-François Morizur, CEO of Cailabs, said: "Optical communications are ready to move beyond individual deployments. With OGSaaS by Cailabs, customers will not need to become optical communications specialists to benefit from the technology. They will be able to access optical capability as a service, combine it with their own infrastructure, or deploy dedicated stations where needed.
"Cailabs is investing in the infrastructure and operations needed to make that possible. By working with established ground-segment providers, we can extend the service faster and make optical capacity available through suppliers and contractual structures that satellite operators already use."
OGSaaS by Cailabs does not replace the need for dedicated optical ground stations. It adds a new access model. Satellite operators, defence and sovereign customers, and ground-segment partners will be able to use different combinations of service access, dedicated infrastructure and hybrid deployments depending on their operational needs.
With OGSaaS by Cailabs, optical ground communications can move from individual deployments toward an accessible international infrastructure serving multiple operators and missions.
