29 April, 2025 — Spain and Portugal were plunged into darkness. No, this isn’t some dystopian movie plot. This happened yesterday.
Cities stood still. Traffic lights blinked out. Trains and flights halted. Calls dropped. Messaging apps froze. In the space of a few hours, everyday life came to a standstill — not because of a war, or a pandemic, but because the grid failed.
And with it, so did our connection to each other. So, one thing is crystal clear: when the power goes out, our dependency on always-on, always-there connectivity becomes painfully obvious.
At Alvatross, this event hit home — not just because of the headlines, but because it proves exactly why we’re working on the SATCOM with an Edge Catalyst. Because when terrestrial infrastructure collapses, connectivity can’t be optional, it must adapt, persist, and prevail.
The blackout that hit millions across Spain and Portugal wasn’t just a freak event. It was a preview of a future where cyberattacks, extreme weather, and grid overloads are only becoming more frequent. So, the question isn’t if disruptions happen — it’s how prepared we are when they do.
That’s where SATCOM III comes in.
What’s the deal? SATCOM III isn’t about satellite launches or competing with your local telecom provider. It’s about merging satellite networks with 5G — terrestrial and non-terrestrial connectivity coming together in perfect harmony to create an infrastructure that doesn’t just survive a blackout but thrives during one. When the grid collapses, we won’t just be “getting by” with patchy signal. We’ll be up in the sky, working through it.
But this catalyst doesn’t stop there. While most focus on integrating devices and networks, we’re tackling the systems that power it all — the OSS/BSS and service orchestration layers. SATCOM III integrates these parts in a way that’s never been done before. Using TM Forum’s Connectivity as a Service (CaaS) approach and GSMA-aligned templates, we enable telcos and satellite providers to share a marketplace, making automation and dynamic service-switching the new norm.
Translation? When the grid goes down, connectivity doesn’t have to.
Sure, the blackout ended — but the vulnerabilities it exposed? Still very much alive.
Across Spain, the outage hit hard. Train stations went dark. Air traffic slowed to a crawl. Calls dropped. Messaging apps failed. Basically, the entire digital nervous system of a country took an unplanned nap. Hospitals flicked on backup generators, but the rest of the grid? Hanging by a thread.
And while batteries and generators can hold the line for a few hours, they’re a band-aid — not a solution. The real price of that downtime? Massive. Experts estimate that every hour of nationwide blackout racks up millions in economic losses, from grounded business operations to stalled logistics, frozen public services, and disrupted supply chains. Spain was in "standby mode" for hours — and it cost dearly.
This isn’t just a telecom problem — it’s a wake-up call for governments and critical infrastructure providers. Resilience can’t be an afterthought anymore. It needs to be baked into national digital strategies and investment plans.
This is where SATCOM III swoops in. The Catalyst isn’t just about future-proofing your network — it’s about being ready for the here and now. Here’s how:
Spain and Portugal’s blackout wasn’t just a ‘oops’, it was a call-to-action. With every new disruption — be it weather-related or a cyber event — our reliance on robust, always-on connectivity is more crucial than ever. But resilience can’t just be bolted on as an afterthought.
If we’ve learned anything, it’s that connectivity isn’t just a luxury — it’s a lifeline. And when the lights go out, we must stay connected. That’s why SATCOM III is more than just innovation for the future. It’s the infrastructure of the now — and it’s ready for anything.
So here’s the deal: CSPs, governments, telcos, tech geeks, listen up:
It’s time to reevaluate your current connectivity strategy, reenergize your operations with hybrid networks, and reignite your results by creating systems that don’t just survive a crisis — they help solve it.
When the lights go out, will you be left fumbling for signal, or will you be seamlessly switching from grid to satellite?
Reevaluate. Reenergize. Reignite. Because the next blackout? You don’t want to be left in the dark.
