High North Communications: Low Earth Orbit SATCOM and the Canadian Patrol Submarine

By Lee Matheson, 12 November 2026

Operating conventional submarines in the High North presents a communications difficulty. Traditional Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO) satellite networks experience severe coverage degradation beyond 70° to 75° North, leaving polar and sub-polar corridors in a communications shadow. HF and other communications are not fully reliable in the North. For navies operating in the Norwegian Sea, Barents Sea, or Canadian Arctic, GEO satellites are too low on the horizon to provide an adequate signal. Low Earth Orbit (LEO) constellations fundamentally alter this issue by potentially providing high-throughput, low-latency links across high latitudes.

The Future Telesat Lightspeed Military Payload

Integrating a sovereign LEO capability -- specifically leveraging constellations like Canada’s planned Telesat Lightspeed network -- offers a potential improved sovereign capability for the Canadian Patrol Submarine (such as for the preferred supplier’s Type-212CD). Telesat Lightspeed is a planned advanced low-earth-orbit satellite constellation supported by major Canadian government financing. Under the Department of National Defence's Enhanced Satellite Communications Project-Polar (ESCP-P), it is intended in part to deliver secure, high-capacity military connectivity across the Arctic. Telesat’s integration of 500 MHz of military Ka-band (Mil-Ka) spectrum on the satellite directly addresses defense requirements by including a custom military payload on the satellites, operating primarily within secure military Ka-band frequencies.

Potential Trilateral Utility: Canada, Norway and Germany

While Canada has a national stake in sovereign polar communications, the Royal Norwegian Navy shares a similar operational requirement for high-latitude, low-probability-of-intercept (LPI) connectivity around Svalbard and the Barents Sea. This operational synergy is already reflected in commercial space strategy, as this author understands Space Norway has formally expressed interest in utilizing the Telesat Lightspeed constellation to support sovereign Arctic and security communications. Furthermore, as part of a future trilateral Team 212CD user group, access to a robust LEO architecture benefits Germany’s northern flank deployments as well. Under a shared framework, Germany and Norway (in addition to Canada) could hypothetically be authorized to use the Lightspeed satellite military payload via a potential compact, future mast-deployable LEO submarine terminal tailored for the Type-212CD submarine, made possible via allied data-sharing agreements.

Post continues on Broadsides.

Trending now:

• High North Communications: Low Earth Orbit SATCOM and the Canadian Patrol Submarine
• Winner of the 2026 CNMT Essay Contest: Vulnerable Arteries
• The Plan for a Stronger Canada: Naval Strategy
• A New Canadian Defence Plan: Coming Soon?
• CNR sponsors: visit page

Latest CNR: Vol. 22 No. 2 (2026)

In his Editorial “The Art of Naval Thought,” Brian Santarpia notes that “the RCN dedicates relatively little effort to professional education in the foundations of strategic thought,” and that this is unfortunate. To start off the line-up of interesting articles, we have the winning essay of the 2026 CNMT essay competition. The author, C.A.M. Al Wahi, won with an impressive essay entitled “Vulnerable Arteries: Protecting Critical Subsea Infrastructure and the RCN’s Mandate.” Our second article, “A Submarine-First Royal Canadian Navy?” argues that, as Canada’s main strategic asset, submarines should receive more focus in the RCN. Our third article, “Slow Procurement is Canada’s Greater Risk,” outlines problems and solutions in the military procurement process from the perspective of a Canadian company. The next article, “Of Hulls and Sailors: Why Fleet Recapitalization Depends on Personnel Generation,” focuses on the importance of ensuring there are enough trained personnel as a crucial element of naval capability. The final article discusses HMCS Sackville and the ship’s recommissioning ceremony in the spring.   

We have a good selection of Making Waves commentaries. There is material about the future US Arctic Security Cutters, discussion of the importance of trained personnel, underwater surveillance in the Arctic, and suggestions about the design of Canadian amphibious forces.

And, of course, we have our regular columns. In “Allies of Necessity: Japan and South Korea,” “A View from the West” looks at the uneasy relationship between two key players in the Indo-Pacific region.  “Dollars and Sense” examines the shift from austerity to abundance in defence, and “Warship Developments” updates us on Tomahawks and aircraft carriers.  

No issue of CNR would be complete without the amazing photos! And there are many of them!

Stay tuned. In a few weeks, the issue will be available to people who are lucky enough to be subscribers! It’s not too late for you to subscribe. See here for the Table of Contents.

CNR resources

• CNR Archives
• Subject Index for CNR Articles
• Broadsides Forum - Join the Discussion
• Submissions to Canadian Naval Review
• Subscriptions - unlock access to all CNR materials
• Sponsor page
• Free CNR articles and PDF downloads
• Follow us on Bluesky and LinkedIn
• Donate to CNR
• Special offer

Read more: CNR Archives (75 magazines in PDF) and Subject Index

Looking for Books about Maritime Matters?

Over the last 20 years, Canadian Naval Review has published over 200 book reviews. These books cover a variety of topics but they all relate to maritime matters, history, or security and defence at sea. This is an amazing resource. Go through the list of reviews, pick out a few books that look interesting, read the reviews, and then order the books from your nearest bookstore or from the publisher. See the list of book reviews at https://www.navalreview.ca/book-reviews/