Telenor has installed a base station in Antarctica, at the Norwegian Polar Institute’s research station in Troll.

In doing so, the Norwegian telco claims the site to be the world's southernmost commercial base station.

Telenor revealed that the base station was put into operation this month, and will provide essential mobile coverage to the Norwegian Polar Institute's research station.

According to the company, the base station is operated from the world's northernmost base station in Ny Ålesund.

"There has been a fruitful dialogue with the Norwegian Polar Institute regarding the possibilities offered by a base station in Antarctica," said head of Telenor Svalbard, Christian Skottun.

"Telenor, with its presence in Svalbard, has extensive experience in building and operating mobile networks in Arctic regions. Mobile coverage is crucial for both Arctic poles. For research communities, the ability to utilize mobile IoT in gathering data from fieldwork is particularly attractive. Additionally, mobile coverage opens up new possibilities for research and environmental monitoring in the Antarctic oceanic area."

Telenor noted it's also working with Kongsberg Satellite Services (KSAT), which is responsible for the communication service from the Troll station.

KSAT owns and operates TrollSat, one of the world's most important ground stations for collecting data from climate and environmental monitoring satellites, co-located with the research station at Troll.

"Full mobile coverage at Troll also helps our users and simplifies communication with the outside world. We are therefore pleased that the satellite link from Troll also can be used for mobile phone traffic," says Rolf Skatteboe, CEO of KSAT.