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SES, a leading space solutions company, is expanding humanitarian connectivity at the Farchana refugee settlement in Chad through a groundbreaking deployment 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.
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The deployment, part of the Connectivity for Refugees initiative, uses SES’s O3b mPOWER satellite network to provide dependable, high-speed internet for humanitarian teams and essential services for refugees.
A First for emergency.lu: Medium Earth Orbit Power
This marks the first emergency.lu deployment using O3b mPOWER satellites in Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) , expanding beyond the program’s previous use of geostationary (GEO) satellites for rapid disaster-response missions.
It also represents a new application for the platform—moving from short-term emergency response to sustained connectivity for displaced communities.
From Emergency Response to Everyday Connectivity
While emergency.lu has traditionally supported first responders and emergency operations, this deployment is designed to connect both refugees and the humanitarian organizations serving them.
The connectivity enables:
- Online learning for refugee children and adults
- Digital skills training to build future opportunities
- Community connectivity centers where refugees can access information and communicate
- Reliable day-to-day communications for humanitarian workers
Built for the Long Haul
The deployment was carried out by Luxembourg Ministry personnel on the ground, following hands-on training at SES’s Luxembourg headquarters.
Built for sustained use and flexible expansion, the communication kit is designed to support longer-term operations and evolving needs on site. This represents a strategic shift from rapid deployment to durable infrastructure.
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.
Why Farchana?
The Farchana refugee settlement in eastern Chad hosts thousands of displaced people, many fleeing conflict and instability in neighboring regions. Reliable connectivity is not a luxury—it is a lifeline.
For humanitarian teams, internet access means:
- Coordinating aid delivery
- Accessing medical guidance
- Maintaining communication with headquarters
For refugees, connectivity means:
- Staying in touch with separated family members
- Accessing educational resources
- Building skills for an uncertain future
Leadership Perspective
“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’s high-throughput, low-latency 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 of SES
The Technology: O3b mPOWER
SES’s O3b mPOWER system operates in Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) , offering significant advantages over traditional geostationary satellites:
- Lower latency for real-time applications like video calls and online learning
- Higher throughput to support multiple users and applications simultaneously
- Flexible beam shaping to direct capacity where it’s needed most
This makes it ideal for humanitarian settings where reliable, responsive connectivity can transform lives.
A Partnership That Delivers
The emergency.lu partnership brings together:
- Luxembourg’s Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, Defence, Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade – leadership and coordination
- SES – space infrastructure and technical expertise
- UN Refugee Agency – on-the-ground humanitarian presence and needs assessment
Together, they deliver connectivity that is not just fast, but fit for purpose—designed around the real needs of displaced communities.
