SatEnlight takes its technology into the field in Basilicata

During the week of 28 September to 2 October 2026, the SatEnlight team moved its technology into the field in Basilicata for a new stage of the Proof of Concept developed together with AREAWI.

The activity followed the Basilicata Open LAB Co-Innovation Award received by the two companies on 25 June 2026 and the system-integration work carried out during the summer.

The campaign focuses on a hybrid optical/radio connection over approximately seven kilometres along the Ionian coast.

The experimental link connects the Lido di Metaponto area, in the municipality of Bernalda, with Lido Quarantotto in the municipality of Pisticci, crossing a route that includes the sea surface and the protected coastal pine forest.

For SatEnlight, the test represents another transition from laboratory development towards real operational environments.

During the campaign, the teams are evaluating pointing and alignment stability under marine atmospheric turbulence, link availability and the behaviour of the equipment under actual weather conditions.

The objective is to gather empirical data rather than reproduce laboratory conditions.

The test also explores a concrete telecommunications use case for free-space optical communications: providing high-capacity connectivity in areas where deploying fibre can require invasive civil works or can be limited by environmental, landscape and forestry constraints.

The September-October 2026 campaign therefore represents both a technological test and a first step towards understanding how SatEnlight’s optical communication technologies could be applied to terrestrial infrastructure alongside their future space applications.