Luxembourg/Australian satellite NTN IoT and D2D pioneer collaborates with Australian research and sensing partners to support forest monitoring, disaster resilience, carbon markets and scalable remote connectivity
Brendan Choat
Luxembourg / Sydney – [DATE], 2026 – OQ Technology Australia today announced that its project “Space-Enabled Smart Sensing for Forest Monitoring” is one of five collaborative projects awarded funding through NSSN Grand Challenge Fund 2026. The collaborative initiative brings together the NSW Smart Sensing Network (NSSN), Western Sydney University, University of NSW (UNSW), the NSW Space Research Network (SRN), Scenic World, Blue Mountains World Heritage Institute, and OQ Technology.
The collaboration builds on prior engagement between OQ Technology, the NSW Space Research Network (SRN), and Western Sydney University, and has been brought together through the NSSN Grand Challenge Fund to deliver an integrated research and industry partnership.
The project will deploy advanced environmental sensor networks connected through OQ Technology’s low-Earth-orbit satellite NTN IoT infrastructure to enable real-time monitoring of forests and ecosystems in remote or difficult-to-connect areas. The initiative will support improved visibility of ecosystem health, climate stress, biodiversity activity and natural hazard risk in the Greater Blue Mountains region of New South Wales.
While the project is focused initially on forest and ecosystem monitoring, its strategic relevance extends further. It will demonstrate how satellite-enabled sensing can help address a broader national challenge: the need for reliable, scalable and resilient data connectivity across Australia’s remote landscapes, where terrestrial networks may be unavailable, unreliable or vulnerable during extreme events.
The initiative represents an important milestone for OQ Technology following the company’s expansion into Australia and highlights the growing collaboration between Australia and Luxembourg in space-enabled environmental technologies, smart sensing and resilient infrastructure.
Addressing critical environmental and resilience challenges
Australia’s natural forests and agroforestry sectors face growing pressure from bushfire, drought, flood, biodiversity decline and climate variability. At the same time, commercial forestry, carbon farming and natural capital projects increasingly require trusted measurement, monitoring and verification frameworks to support regulatory compliance, project performance and investor confidence.
The project directly addresses these needs by combining smart sensing, research validation and satellite-enabled communications to support continuous monitoring of:
- tree water stress;
- soil moisture;
- microclimate conditions;
- biodiversity activity;
- forest health and ecosystem condition;
- climate and drought stress indicators; and
- post-fire and extreme-weather recovery.
The monitoring network will build upon the Blue Mountains Hub for Ecology and Conservation led by Western Sydney University, one of Australia’s leading ecological monitoring programs. The Blue Mountains region has experienced severe climate-driven events in recent years, including the Black Summer bushfires and prolonged drought conditions.
The project will also include a new fully instrumented monitoring site within Scenic World’s rainforest estate in the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area.
From research validation to operational deployment
The collaboration has been designed as more than a standalone research project. It provides a pathway from field validation to operational deployment, demonstrating how satellite-connected sensing can support public-sector, commercial and environmental use cases at scale.
By validating the model in Australian field conditions, the project is expected to create pathways for future deployment across:
- commercial forestry;
- carbon farming and natural capital projects;
- conservation and biodiversity monitoring;
- remote agriculture and agroforestry;
- drought and wildfire management;
- land management and rehabilitation; and
- disaster resilience and emergency response.
The project also supports a hybrid resilience model for remote monitoring. In areas without terrestrial coverage, satellite connectivity can provide primary connectivity. In areas where terrestrial networks exist but may be vulnerable to congestion, outage or extreme events, satellite-enabled sensing can provide an additional layer of operational resilience.
This is particularly relevant for remote forests, farms, natural landscapes and public infrastructure, where monitoring and coordination can be most critical during bushfires, floods, severe weather or other emergency conditions.
A strategic Australian reference case for satellite NTN IoT
For OQ Technology, the project provides a significant Australian reference case for standards-based satellite IoT services. It demonstrates how satellite-enabled connectivity can support low-power sensing applications across sectors where long-term monitoring, low maintenance and wide-area reach are essential.
The project also aligns with OQ Technology’s broader roadmap toward scalable direct-to-device satellite IoT connectivity. Over time, this approach has the potential to reduce field infrastructure requirements, lower installation and maintenance costs, and enable faster roll-out of remote sensing networks across large geographic areas.
The initiative positions Australia as a strong reference environment for testing space-enabled environmental IoT technologies under challenging climate and operational conditions, including fire-prone landscapes, drought zones, remote forestry regions and areas beyond reliable terrestrial mobile coverage.
Executive comments
Omar Qaise, Founder and CEO of OQ Technology, said:
“This project demonstrates the growing importance of satellite-enabled IoT infrastructure in addressing some of the world’s most pressing environmental and climate resilience challenges. Australia is an ideal environment to showcase how satellite communications can support critical monitoring applications in remote and climate-sensitive regions.”
“OQ Technology Australia was established to enable NTN IoT and D2D in Australia, We are proud to collaborate with leading Australian research institutions and industry networks on a project that combines advanced sensing, space technology and environmental science into a scalable operational capability. The long-term opportunity is not only to monitor forests more effectively, but to build a model for resilient, standards-based connectivity that can support remote industries, public infrastructure and climate adaptation more broadly.”
Professor Brendan Choat from Western Sydney University said:
“Continuous, real-time monitoring of ecosystem stress is becoming increasingly important for forestry, biodiversity conservation, carbon markets and climate adaptation. By integrating advanced sensors with satellite-enabled communications, we can now monitor ecosystems in locations that were previously very difficult to reach or connect.”
Dr Tomonori Hu, Environment & Agriculture Theme Lead, NSSN said:
“The NSSN Grand Challenge Fund is designed to bring together the right partners to solve complex challenges through smart sensing. This project combines leading expertise in environmental science, satellite communications and sensing technologies to create a scalable solution that will improve how we monitor Australia’s forests while strengthening our capability in resilient, remote monitoring.”
Maurice Borer, Business Development Manager – Industry Engagement at SRN, said:
“This project demonstrates the role SRN can play in catalysing strategic industry–research partnerships and translating emerging space-enabled technologies into practical outcomes aligned with Australia’s national science and civil space priorities. It also highlights how coordinated ecosystem engagement can create new international collaboration pathways.”
About OQ Technology & OQ Technology Australia
OQ Technology is a Luxembourg-based satellite operator pioneering 5G Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN) connectivity through its direct-to-device (D2D) global satellite network. The company is the first in Europe to operate a LEO constellation dedicated to D2D services, using MSS S-band, C-band, and IMT band spectrum to deliver secure, seamless, and 3GPP-standards-based connectivity to unmodified smartphones and IoT devices.
OQ Technology established a subsidiary in Australia that bridges the gap between terrestrial and space-based mobile networks, enabling real-time, 3GPP-compliant 5G NTN communications for governments, enterprises, and consumers worldwide.
Learn more: www.oqtec.com
About the NSW Smart Sensing Network (NSSN) and the Grand Challenge Fund:
The NSSN is a collaborative network of Australian universities, industry and government organisations focused on developing smart sensing technologies to address major societal, environmental and industrial challenges.
The NSSN Grand Challenge Fund supports innovative collaborative research projects addressing critical challenges in areas including Environment & Agriculture, Natural Hazards, Net Zero and Smart Places. Grants are awarded to projects demonstrating strong pathways toward operational deployment, collaboration and commercialisation.
Learn more: www.nssn.org.au
The project is scheduled to commence in 2026, with deployments across the Greater Blue Mountains region and additional remote monitoring sites across New South Wales.
About Western Sydney University
Western Sydney University is one of Australia’s leading research universities, with internationally recognised expertise in environmental science, ecology, climate resilience and smart sensing technologies. Through the Blue Mountains Hub for Ecology and Conservation, the university is advancing long-term ecological monitoring and climate adaptation research across Australia’s most environmentally significant landscapes.
About the NSW Space Research Network
The NSW Space Research Network (SRN) is an initiative of the NSW State Government’s Office of the Chief Scientist and Engineer, fostering collaboration between universities, industry and government to accelerate innovation and technology translation in the space sector. SRN brings together multiple NSW and ACT universities to strengthen industry–research collaboration and enable pathways from early-stage research through to capability development and commercialisation.
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