Space Norway has launched its Emergency Preparedness service, designed to ensure business and government continuity during outages of terrestrial communications. As the sole owner and operator of satellites in Scandinavia, Space Norway is positioning the service as a key contribution to digital resilience across Norway and the wider Nordic region.
Credit: Space Norway
Jan Hetland, Director Data Services at Space Norway
The service addresses a common vulnerability in enterprise and public-sector IT environments: reliance on a single terrestrial internet connection. By integrating satellite-based connectivity into customers’ core networks, the solution ensures uninterrupted connectivity by automatically switching to an alternative internet service when the primary infrastructure is disrupted.
“Extreme weather events and growing geopolitical uncertainty have highlighted how exposed critical digital infrastructure can be,” said Jan Hetland, Director Data Services at Space Norway. “Our service ensures organisations remain connected when terrestrial networks fail by adding resilience to their IT infrastructure. Resilience, in this context, is not about digital maturity. It is about network diversity. The conversation has moved from whether disruption will occur to when.
”The Emergency Preparedness solution is not limited to a single satellite system. It combines Low Earth Orbit (LEO) services from Starlink, with Space Norway’s own Geostationary Orbit (GEO) satellites, including THOR 7 and, from 2028, THOR 8. LEO provides high bandwidth and low latency, while the GEO component is a sovereign solution with full national control of both space and ground infrastructure. This hybrid approach also delivers redundancy should either link be degraded.
The service is primarily aimed at onshore enterprises and government entities, where demand for satellite-based backup connectivity is increasing. In scenarios such as flooding or landslides, both common occurrences in Norway’s terrain, fibre cable and power lines are vulnerable to simultaneous disruption, leaving satellite connectivity as the only practical communications alternative.
Capacity is reserved for Emergency Preparedness customers, and services are always on, fully integrated, and supported by Space Norway’s 24/7 Network Operations Centre. Customers receive training as part of installation and are encouraged to regularly test the solution to ensure operational readiness.
The service is already live in Norway, and Space Norway is working to make the service available in other Nordic countries.