Arctic Space Technologies, the highly sustainable and innovative ground segment provider, and OneWeb, the low Earth orbit satellite communications company, announced a leap forward in the construction of the OneWeb Satellite Network Portal (SNP), a hyperscale satellite ground station installation at the Arctic Space Technologies’ Space Center in Piteå. The companies signed a bilateral agreement in December of 2022, and have now finalized the detailed design work as well as obtained all approvals for the construction of the SNP. Under the agreement, 27 satellite tracking antenna systems will be installed and are expected to be operational in Q3 2023.

The SNP will provide increased connectivity for customers across industries including maritime and aviation, as well as meet network demands and provide 4G and 5G backhaul solutions.

OneWeb’s decision to expand its reach in this region is a testimony to the benefits of the massive investments into sustainable energy currently being made in Northern Sweden. For example, the combination of the sustainable focused EcoDataCenter, used for data processing, the zero-carbon Arctic Space Center for Ground Station operations, and OneWeb satellites could render this project into one of the most ecologically friendly propositions in the market.

Stephen Graham, OneWeb Director for SNP Site Management, said: “We are delighted to partner with Arctic Space Technologies to construct a satellite network portal in Northern Sweden. Alongside the completion of our global LEO constellation, the development of a distributed and sophisticated ground infrastructure is critical for OneWeb to deliver connectivity for customers across a range of sectors. Our expansion into the Swedish market has been shaped by the benefits of working with strong local partners alongside the technological and sustainability credentials of the Arctic Space Center, both of which will help deliver OneWeb’s mission.”

Benjamin Fischer, CEO of Arctic Space Technologies is excited about the relationship: “It comes naturally that we work together with a company like OneWeb to support with sustainable hyper scale satellite data processing capabilities to meet their rapidly growing demand for network bandwidth. We are happy to be able to share the benefits of northern Sweden with partners like OneWeb, and I look forward to our future work together that will not only be of great benefit for both parties, but also align space activities with the European Green Deal. In addition, we currently rapidly expand our support for satellite constellations worldwide and by the trust of companies like OneWeb, Arctic Space Technologies continues to build up momentum and innovate the market to bring forward new standards for satellite data processing” he says.

“Responsible space is a top priority for OneWeb, which is why we are pleased to partner with them to create sustainable, innovative solutions on the ground. Together, we will help bring OneWeb’s high-speed, low-latency connectivity solutions to the Northern Sweden region, marking another important step forward in closing the digital divide.” The Arctic Space Center was taken into operations in 2021 has since then has been growing into one of the largest satellite communications facilities in Sweden. Arctic Space Technologies is currently in a state of rapid expansion in terms of employees, facilities, and services in addition to the growing customer segment. “Operating from the coastal region of Northern Sweden has shown to be not only beneficial from an environmental point of view, but also in terms of lower maintenance and operations costs, great fiber connectivity, a milder climate, easier to retain staff, and the satellite coverage extends seamlessly from the Arctic to Europe and North Africa. It would be foolish to not offer these advantages for partners such as OneWeb”, says Benjamin Fischer.