A satellite-connected sensor network will be deployed across Australia’s Greater Blue Mountains to monitor forest health, biodiversity and climate stress, in a project that aims to demonstrate how non-terrestrial networks can extend IoT coverage into areas poorly served by terrestrial infrastructure.
The project, led by satellite operator OQ Technology Australia in collaboration with Western Sydney University, the University of New South Wales, the NSW Smart Sensing Network (NSSN), NSW Space Research Network, Scenic World and the Blue Mountains World Heritage Institute, is one of five projects to receive funding from the NSSN Grand Challenge Fund 2026.
The initiative will connect environmental sensors through OQ Technology’s low-Earth-orbit satellite network, collecting data on tree water stress, soil moisture, microclimate conditions, biodiversity and forest condition.
The initial deployments are planned for the Greater Blue Mountains region of New South Wales, including a fully instrumented monitoring site within Scenic World’s rainforest estate. The project is scheduled to begin this year.
For IoT applications in remote areas, the connectivity layer is as important as the sensors themselves. Forests, farms and other natural environments can sit beyond reliable mobile coverage, while existing infrastructure can be vulnerable to bushfires, floods and other extreme weather.
The project will therefore test satellite connectivity not only as a replacement for terrestrial networks, but as a resilience layer that can provide a second communications path where terrestrial networks are available but potentially vulnerable to outages or congestion.
The partners said the data could support forestry, biodiversity monitoring, carbon farming, drought and wildfire management, land rehabilitation and disaster resilience.
The monitoring network will build on Western Sydney University’s Blue Mountains Hub for Ecology and Conservation, which conducts long-term ecological monitoring in a region that has experienced severe drought and bushfires, including the 2019–20 Black Summer fires.
The partners intend to use the project to validate satellite-connected sensing under Australian field conditions and assess whether the approach can be extended to commercial and public-sector deployments.
That could include applications where large numbers of low-power sensors need to operate for long periods without the installation and maintenance of terrestrial communications infrastructure.
For OQ Technology, the project also provides an Australian test case for its approach to standards-based satellite IoT and direct-to-device connectivity.
The Luxembourg-based company operates a low-Earth-orbit satellite network targeting 3GPP-based non-terrestrial network services. It established an Australian subsidiary as part of its expansion into the country.
Omar Qaise, Founder and Chief Executive of OQ Technology, said Australia provided an opportunity to demonstrate satellite-enabled IoT in remote and climate-sensitive environments.
“Satellite-enabled IoT infrastructure” could help address environmental monitoring and climate resilience challenges, he said, adding that the longer-term opportunity extended to remote industries and public infrastructure.
Professor Brendan Choat of Western Sydney University said continuous monitoring of ecosystem stress was becoming increasingly important for forestry, biodiversity conservation, carbon markets and climate adaptation.
