Strengthens the Monitoring of GPS Interference in the High North

The government has decided to open a new Tromsø office for Nkom, the Norwegian Communications Authority. Its task will be to measure and analyse GPS interference in the north. Staffing starts at a minimum of two people, and the office is meant to be running by 2026.

Karianne Tung (Labour), the Minister of Digitalisation and Public Governance, said the world has grown more dangerous and less predictable, and that a larger presence of public authorities in the High North supports security and preparedness. She said a base in Tromsø means shorter travel times and a quicker response to Svalbard and Eastern Finnmark, both served by direct flights. Tromsø also houses bodies Nkom can work with, among them the police, Avinor (the airport operator), KSAT and the Polar Institute.

GPS interference has been registered for a long time over Eastern Finnmark, which borders Russia. Most of it is jamming, with some spoofing, and aircraft have had to land using other navigation methods. Nkom has received no reports of disruption at ground level there. In early August, Telenor Coastal Radio, the Coast Guard and the Coastal Administration told Nkom that navigation equipment in the Barents Sea had been jammed. Last week Nkom ran its own monitoring between Kirkenes and Båtsfjord and found no new signs of interference. For Svalbard, aviation authorities and Avinor reported GPS interference on 8 July. Nkom has not been able to confirm any frequency disturbance there or its cause.

Nkom Director John-Eivind Velure said the authority's monitoring over Eastern Finnmark shows the interference comes from Russia, and that other Norwegian authorities agree. Russia has itself confirmed that it protects its own infrastructure in a way that affects Norway, he said. Nkom has contacted the Russian authorities and cited international rules on frequency use across borders. Tung told High North News that Norway recently sent Russia a letter, and she declined to say more.

Velure said stopping the interference is difficult, but monitoring will continue and Nkom will keep raising the issue with neighbouring countries. Nkom also informs and advises relevant parties, and helps organise the yearly jamming test at Andøya.