European satellite operator Eutelsat has signed a contract with Greenland's state-owned telco Tusass for Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite services.

Eutelsat-OneWeb has signed a strategic multi-year agreement with Greenland’s national telecommunications company Tusass to bring its LEO services to the region, enabling connectivity across the remote landmass where terrestrial solutions have long been impractical.

“Critical infrastructure has become a key focus area across Europe, and we are delighted to continue our work with Tusass to support its efforts in connecting remote communities, backbone infrastructure, and enabling essential services such as rescue operations and maritime security and safety,” said Cyril Dujardin, president of Eutelsat’s connectivity business unit.

“Our expanded partnership highlights the growing relevance of LEO for both resiliency and redundancy, and for meeting the evolving sovereign and commercial connectivity needs of remote regions. As Arctic nations seek to reinforce their infrastructure, Eutelsat delivers a unique capability to connect communities and critical systems, wherever they are.”

The agreement will span community broadband access in mobility and mission-critical connectivity in maritime and emergency services.

As a nation of less than 60,000 people, there is little connectivity infrastructure outside of the establishment of NATO installations in the strategically crucial area. The region’s maritime industry is also outsized for its economy, with large fishing fleets and growing shipping traffic requiring weather data, navigation tools, and emergency support via satellite.

Eutelsat stresses that the agreement delivers sovereign-grade connectivity in keeping with ongoing widespread demands for data security and the assurance of the inalienable use of crucial information technologies. The Eutelsat-OneWeb constellation orbits over the planet’s poles, giving it unique capacity to deliver to polar regions – a demand most pertinent to militaries and scientific causes.

The trend for Arctic connectivity has been sparked by revelations around the economic value of shipping lanes and mineral wealth in the Arctic Ocean becoming viable as a result of melting sea ice, a trend that has prompted increased activity in the region by Russia and China, further motivating security concerns.

These motivators have accelerated work towards connecting territories in the Arctic Circle, in anticipation that the region will become critical to the G7 nations on its doorstep and their rivals throughout the 21st century.

State-owned Tusass has three satellite ground station sites in Ittoqqortoormiit, Qaanaaq, and Tasiilaq.

The company leases capacity from Hispasat’s Amazonas Nexus satellite, and previously signed another satellite connectivity distribution deal with OneWeb.

As part of a recent strategy announcement, Tusass aims to invest DKK 1.9 billion ($263m) towards satellite partnerships, an additional submarine cable from Qaqortoq to Ilulissat, radio chain upgrades, improved 5G networks, and data centers.