The British Antarctic Survey (BAS), a premier center for polar research and operations worldwide, has partnered with Eutelsat Group to launch low Earth orbit services in Antarctica. The service, which was introduced in January 2024, offers access to the Antarctica-based Rothera Research Station, which is run by BAS. Even though there are a lot of important scientific research outposts in Antarctica, there are now only a few providers providing 1–5 Mbps uplink and downlink internet access and communications services available there. The services offered by Eutelsat OneWeb will have far higher reliability and bandwidth rates—up to 120 Mbps.
Mercury, the God of communication, is known by the Latin word “TALARIA,” which refers to the proprietary technology Eutelsat OneWeb developed to provide services to the Antarctic region. The cutting-edge technology consists of a user terminal situated 1,000 miles distant at Rothera Research Station and a ground station situated in Chile. The technology will be able to meet both the staff’s connectivity requirements and the heavy data use requirements of scientific activities conducted at the research outposts in Antarctica.
Comtech Telecommunications Corp. and Cobham Satcom, our partners for the development and deployment of the ground infrastructure solution, as well as the European Space Agency (ESA) Sunrise Partnership Project made the design of the TALARIA system possible. High-speed, low-latency connectivity can revolutionize Antarctic operations, enabling real-time support for scientists and improving their welfare during extended deployments in remote areas.
British Antarctic Survey’s Head of Engineering, Julius Rix, anticipates transformative connectivity at Rothera Research Station with Eutelsat OneWeb. Increased bandwidth promises improved communication capabilities, facilitating data transfers and live broadcasts from one of the world’s most remote locations, potentially revolutionizing scientific endeavours.
Maurizio Vanotti, VP of Eutelsat OneWeb, highlights the trial in Antarctica as a commitment to global connectivity. The collaboration with the British Antarctic Survey aims to expand coverage and showcase the potential of LEO technology to overcome geographical constraints and create new opportunities.
“The TALARIA system is an innovation designed to provide extremely hard-to-reach regions of the planet with significantly higher bandwidth via LEO connectivity. “This has been an exciting opportunity to create an entirely new remote connectivity system for Antarctica from concept to delivery within 18 months,” stated Valery Gineste, Vice President of Technology and Innovation at Eutelsat OneWeb.
ESA’s Stephane Lascar expresses delight at supporting connectivity in Antarctica with Eutelsat OneWeb. Through the Sunrise Partnership Project, ESA aims to provide connectivity to businesses, scientific communities, and users, leveraging innovative technologies to support European space companies in the competitive telecommunications satellite market.
John Ratigan, Interim CEO of Comtech, said, “We are excited to collaborate with Eutelsat OneWeb to provide connectivity in some of the world’s most difficult geographic regions, like the Antarctic.” “Comtech provided its industry-leading ELEVATE baseband and RF solution to support dependable, fast connectivity over OneWeb’s LEO satellite constellation, enabling this first-ever demonstration.” Comtech’s ELEVATE solution is a software-defined VSAT system that is portable and has the ability to offer high-speed connection to both government and commercial clients in numerous orbits across a variety of satellite constellations.
Chris Schram, Senior Director of Business Development at Cobham, stated, “We are proud to support the TALARIA project and to play a part in helping Eutelsat OneWeb to adapt and demonstrate the value of its network.” “This fast-track initiative to offer dependable, high-speed connectivity to Antarctica was made possible by the excellent cooperation of the Eutelsat OneWeb team with their TALARIA technology partners, and our small, radome-protected 2.4-meter TRACKER Gateways, which operated successfully in difficult conditions.”
