– Observations have been made in several places in the country, both in southern Norway and in Trøndelag, says Svein Scheie. He is section manager for supervision and preparedness in the Security Department of the National Communications Authority (Nkom). Nkom has received reports of both unidentified drones and suspicious persons around mobile masts and electronic communication facilities. They have passed this information on to the Police’s security service. The mobile and broadband companies are now being asked to be extra vigilant for suspicious activity near their e-facilities. – Our message to the industry is that they should be aware of suspicious activity related to their mobile masts and facilities, says Scheie. Local consequences The observations must have been made during the day by installers and contractors who have worked outside on installations. – What type of information can a drone retrieve from such installations? – It can see from the air what others can see from the ground, so it is a way of obtaining information about what the infrastructure looks like, says Scheie. Recently, Nkom has received about ten reports of unidentified drone sightings around certain base stations. – We have not seen any signs of a possible attack or that the drones can hit the infrastructure by putting them out of service. Nor will there be very big consequences if these are taken out of operation, but it could have a very local impact, says Scheie. If a mobile mast were to be destroyed, it would not be possible, for example, to make a mobile phone call in the area covered by this particular mast. Section manager in Nkom, Svein Sundfør Scheie. Photo: Nkom No connection with mobile phone problems On Thursday morning, Telenor reported mobile phone problems throughout the country. Scheie in Nkom denies that it has any connection with the drone observations that have been made recently. – I have heard speculation that these cases have something in common. They definitely don’t have that, says Scheie. Telenor’s director of coverage, Bjørn Amundsen, also denies a connection between the two incidents. – We have not found the cause of the mobile problems, but at 12:35 we made a correction in our systems. This meant that conditions for customers normalized. They should no longer experience problems with coverage. Important infrastructure Although Nkom has received several messages about possible drone sightings, the section chief is not particularly worried. – It is not about the large critical nodes, but the digital infrastructure is important. That is why there is also an increased focus on safety, says Scheie. Local Government and District Minister Sigbjørn Gjelsvik (Sp) writes in an e-mail to news that the situation is being closely monitored by the companies. – Given the threat situation, we have asked the telecoms companies to be extra vigilant and observant of activity near their own infrastructure. The companies must have a low threshold for such reporting so that we get a good overview of the situation on a national basis, says Gjelsvik. Municipal and District Minister Sigbjørn Gjelsvik in the Center Party. Photo: Kristoffer Steffensen Lenes / news Observations of people around the facilities In connection with the drone observations, there have also been reports of people around the mobile masts. – The reason why it has been notified is because those who have observed them believe that they have behaved strangely. In addition, the persons must have stayed in places where it is unnatural to stay, says Scheie. Nkom has not yet received feedback from PST as to whether this will be about drone activity or not. Both in Trondheim and in southern Norway, drone activity has reportedly been observed around, among other things, mobile masts. Pictured is a mobile mast in Trondheim. Photo: Gorm Kallestad
ttn-69
Messages about drone observations at mobile masts – news Rogaland – Local news, TV and radio
