SES and emergency.lu Launch First MEO Satellite Connectivity for Refugees

SES,  a space solutions company, is expanding humanitarian connectivity at the Farchana refugee settlement in Chad in cooperation with emergency.lu,  the public-private partnership led by Luxembourg’s Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, Defence, Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade and the UN Refugee Agency. In the framework of the Connectivity for Refugees initiative, the deployment uses SES’ O3b mPOWER satellite network to provide dependable, high-speed internet for humanitarian teams and essential services for refugees.

This is the first emergency.lu deployment using O3b mPOWER satellites in Medium Earth Orbit (MEO), an expansion beyond the program’s previous use of geostationary (GEO) satellites for rapid disaster-response missions. It also marks a new application for the platform.

While emergency.lu has traditionally supported first responders and emergency operations, this deployment is designed to connect refugees and the humanitarian organizations enabling services such as online learning, digital skills training, community connectivity centers as well as reliable day-to-day communications.

The deployment was carried out by Luxembourg Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, Defence, Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade’s personnel on the ground, following hands-on training at SES’ Luxembourg headquarters. Built for sustained use and flexible expansion, the communication kit is designed to support longer-term operations and evolving needs on site.

By adding O3b mPOWER to the emergency.lu toolkit, the partnership strengthens its ability to provide connectivity beyond the first days of a crisis, supporting continued access to education, healthcare services and communications when displacement and humanitarian response extend for months.

“Connectivity can change a day — and a life. With this deployment, a classroom can keep teaching and access guidance, humanitarian workers can support displaced communities, and families can stay in touch. With the addition of SES’ high-throughput, low-latency capabilities Medium Earth Orbit capabilities, we have adapted the solution to move from emergency restoration to everyday communications reliability for displaced communities, and are proud to support the Luxembourg Government’s teams as they bring this service online in Farchana.”

– Adel Al-Saleh, CEO, SES