OneWeb, operator of geostationary (GEO) and low orbit (LEO) communications satellites, will provide high-quality communications for the Rother Research Station in Antarctica, the logistics and operations center of the British Antarctic Survey (BAS). The company plans to provide an Internet connection with speeds of up to 120 Mbit/s with increased reliability and low latency. Before this, the connection speed did not exceed 5 Mbit/s.

OneWeb has developed a new system called TALARIA, which includes a ground station in Chile and a user terminal 1,600 kilometers away at the Rothera Research Station on Adelaide Island, west of the Antarctic Peninsula. The system takes its name from the famous winged sandals of the ancient Roman god Mercury, the son of Jupiter and the patron of trade, profit and wealth.

Maurizio Vanotti, OneWeb’s VP of Commercial Strategy and Innovation, believes: “This test in the region is an indication of determination” [компанії] “promoting global connectivity in the world’s most disconnected regions”. Julius Rix, Head of BAS Technical Department, said: “This increase in bandwidth is a game-changer in our communications by enabling the transfer of large data files and enabling us to conduct live interviews from one of the most remote locations on Earth.”

Currently, Antarctica is not connected to the “greater land” by underwater cables, and satellite communications remain the only connectivity link for researchers at high latitudes. It took OneWeb 18 months to create the remote connection system, from the beginning of design to completion. The communications infrastructure in Antarctica will be developed by OneWeb in partnership with the European Space Agency, Sunrise Partnership Project, Comtech Telecommunication and Cobham Satcom.

Other communications operators have also been paying close attention to Antarctica lately. Last month, Chilean mobile operator Entel launched a 5G cellular network on Jorge Island in Antarctica. Earlier this year, Telenor established a base station in Antarctica to provide mobile communications to the Norwegian Polar Institute’s research station.

Starlink and Speedcast have also recently made efforts to improve the quality of satellite communications in Antarctica. As part of the experiment, Japanese scientists broadcast 8K resolution live video from Antarctica using Starlink satellites.