Airship-Mounted 5G: Telia and Kelluu Test Coverage Where Networks Can't Reach

Can lighter-than-air platforms enhance mobile networks? That question is closer to being answered after a demonstration in Finland successfully used airships to provide 5G service in tandem with conventional infrastructure.

Finland’s Kelluu airship company recently cleared a new hurdle toward the goal of using its lighter-than-air platforms to supply reliable 5G network connectivity, thanks to collaborative efforts with the telecom company Telia.

The two companies hosted the cooperative trial in May at a defense technology event in Lapland. The test involved attaching a Nokia Kolibri small-cell base station to one of Kelluu’s autonomous, hydrogen-powered airships.

Finland’s Kelluu is the operator of the world’s largest fleet of autonomous airships, and pairing with Telia allowed the two companies to demonstrate how 5G service can be rapidly deployed over areas lacking mobile coverage. The demonstration connected the airborne base station to Telia’s 3.5 GHz 5G network using satellite backhaul, allowing users on the ground to access the network through the airship.

Widening the Horizons for Airship Supplied Telecom Connectivity
Kelluu’s previous trials had already demonstrated the ability for airships to link satellite and land telecom stations, but those tests focused on the airship’s potential for aerial intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR). Instead, the recent Telia demonstration transformed the airship into a vital piece of commercial telecommunications infrastructure.

The joint effort between autonomous airship platforms and telecom companies is designed to solve a common problem: the limitations of base stations in remote regions or disaster sites. Deploying a conventional base station requires power, backhaul, and supporting infrastructure, all of which can be time consuming—or impossible—to establish in remote or disaster stricken areas.

The Benefits of Floating Telecom Connectivity
By carrying the radio aloft and using a satellite link for backhaul (the connection between a local cell and the wider network), the airship eliminates the key challenges of ground-based options. Floating platforms can provide temporary communications wherever needed before relocating to the next site.

Janne Hietala, Kelluu’s CEO, described in a joint press release how the lighter-than-air telecom link works. “The base station rises into the air, covers an area, and remains in place without the requirement for fixed infrastructure—even in Arctic conditions. Mountains and forests are no longer obstacles to providing coverage.”

According to Hietala, the key advantage over conventional infrastructure is mobility. When the need for 5G shifts, the base station can shift, too. The compact Nokia radio used in the trial is designed to deliver localized coverage, making it well suited to temporary deployments where a full sized cellular tower would be impractical.

Offering Global Connectivity Solutions
The Lapland demonstration also points to applications beyond conventional communications.

Rather than requiring specialized equipment such as handheld radios or satellite phones, Kelluu’s literature outlines how the airship demonstration works with ordinary phones—allowing anyone with a standard mobile phone to connect.

Because users only need ordinary mobile devices, the floating telecom link can also serve more than people: drones, autonomous vehicles, and remote sensors can all ride the same connection. A potential that matters for defense, border monitoring, and infrastructure surveillance work, arguably where this kind of on-demand coverage is most useful.

The Benefits of Lighter-Than-Air Platforms
Rapidly deployable communications can also be provided by drones or fixed-wing aircraft, but Kelluu emphasizes the endurance of airships. Lighter-than-air platforms stay airborne because of static lift; essentially, the lifting gas inside the aircraft’s envelope is lighter than the surrounding air. While drones or fixed-wing aircraft burn energy continuously to generate lift, an airship can limit its power output to propulsion, station-keeping, payload, and onboard systems.

Kelluu’s aircraft also differs from many of its competitors’ platforms. While the tendency is for modern airships to use helium, Kelluu instead chose hydrogen. While helium is often seen as safer, hydrogen offers a bit more lift, costs far less, and can fuel the onboard fuel-cell system.

Company literature also addresses the flammability risks of hydrogen by pointing to a patented design allowing the aircraft to safely contain hydrogen. The company also notes that the aircraft operates autonomously, eliminating risks to onboard crews. At roughly 39 ft (12 m) long, these small aircraft carry a limited amount of gas, which further reduces the hydrogen risk profile.

Building on a Background of Persistent Intelligence Gathering
From its 2018 start, Kelluu has been building on an initial focus of persistent intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, an ability proven by the company’s previous generations of airships.

Kelluu now describes itself as expanding into applications beyond intelligence gathering, pointing to improvements in the endurance of its newest models. The latest generation of aircraft can fly for more than 12 hours at a stretch, and have now logged over 31,000 mi (50,000 km) on missions in temperatures as low as -27°F (-33°C).

Proven Background in Aerial Surveillance Opens the Skies for New Opportunities
Kelluu’s latest telecom initiatives are a natural evolution, building on previous successes in aerial surveillance. In December 2025, Kelluu’s airships acted as an airborne 5G and SATCOM relay for a NATO-linked operation. That round of demonstrations fed multi-sensor data into NATO-standard command systems, so pairing a Nokia small cell with the same platform is a natural extension rather than a standing start.

As a further flex of company potential, in April, 2026, Kelluu secured €15 million in funding led by the NATO Innovation Fund after completing two phases of NATO’s DIANA defense innovation program.

Offering a New Take on a Proven Platform
The concept of airborne telecom connectivity is not new, but Kelluu is pursuing it differently. The telecom trade publication Light Reading noted the airship’s parallel with Google’s Loon, which aimed to deliver internet connectivity to remote regions. Google ended the project in 2021 after demonstrating the technical feasibility of wide-area balloon-based internet coverage, yet simultaneously declaring it difficult to be made commercially viable.

The Kelluu approach differs in several ways, primarily in altitude and intent. Rather than stratospheric balloons with wide service areas, the Kelluu airships perform on a “low and local” basis—closer to a movable cell tower than a satellite substitute.

Next Steps for Kelluu
Whether the Telia and Kelluu concept graduates from demonstration to deployed service remains to be seen, and the companies have not announced commercial plans. The demonstration reflects growing interest in airships as a flexible middle ground between fixed towers, short-endurance drones, and satellites, particularly in areas where conventional communications infrastructure is difficult to deploy.

Sources and Further Reading:

Airship-Mounted 5G: Telia and Kelluu Test Coverage Where Networks Can’t Reach

Responses

Related Articles

Responses