How Telia Norway and Subtonomy REX are Revolutionizing Avalanche Rescue
When an avalanche strikes, time is the only currency that matters. By integrating advanced network data with Subtonomy REX, Telia Norway has pioneered a method to locate missing persons with meter precision — even before a rescue call is made.
Behind every data point and every triangulated coordinate, there is a person.
Imagine the absolute silence following an avalanche. A skier lies buried beneath layers of packed snow. Their family back at the cabin is still unaware of the danger. No one has had time to call for help. In these critical moments, the greatest challenge for rescue teams isn't just the terrain - it’s the unknown.
Are they looking for one person? Five? Ten? Without this information, every second is spent guessing. But even when the person is silent, the technology speaks.
By transforming the mobile network into a digital safety net, we give rescue teams the "eyes" they need to see through the snow and know exactly who to look for.
THE CHALLENGE
Telia Norway as a pillar of social safety
Telia Norway has long been more than just a telecommunications provider; they are a vital societal actor. In a country defined by its rugged terrain and extreme weather, Telia has made it their mission to prove that technology can, and should, be used to protect the community.
The statistics are sobering. Over the past 11 winter seasons, 896 people have been caught in avalanches in Norway, and 63 have tragically lost their lives. Whether it is avalanches in the mountains or landslides in residential areas, the challenge remains the same: quantifying the victims and finding them fast.
By continuously pushing the boundaries of their infrastructure, Telia is taking their commitment to a new level, ensuring that their network serves as a critical tool for the Norwegian search and rescue (SAR) ecosystem.
Telia Norway is a nationwide Norwegian mobile operator with more than 2.4M subscribers. It is part of Telia Group, today serving 25M subscriptions in the Nordic and Baltic region.
“We are constantly working to find people faster. Now we have a method that does exactly that.”
Terje Lilleåsen, Telia Norway
2.1M
mobile customers in Norway 2025
1.24 €
millions in revenue
Norway 2025
896
people caught in avalanches past 11 years in Norway
63
people tragically lost their lives.
THE SOLUTION
Precision through
Timing Advance and REX from Subtonomy
To turn this vision into reality, Telia partnered with Subtonomy to evolve the Subtonomy REX platform.
While the location of an avalanche is often known, the number of victims within it usually is not.
While REX has long provided critical network insights, the recent integration of Timing Advance technology, launched just a few months ago, has taken precision to an unprecedented level.
Avalanches
Landslides
Earth quakes
What is Timing Advance?
By integrating the Subtonomy REX platform with Timing Advance technology, telecom data is transformed into a precise Search & Rescue (SAR) tool.
In areas with existing network coverage, the system interacts with devices by sending hidden messages; by measuring response latency and forcing handovers to neighboring cells, it establishes multiple reference points to triangulate a phone's position. This capability allows operators to identify exactly how many phones were active at a location both before and after an event, such as an avalanche, providing immediate clarity on potential victims.
In rural or remote areas lacking coverage, a rescue helicopter equipped with a mobile base station can be deployed to create a temporary network grid, enabling the same triangulation on demand. Under optimal conditions, this method achieves extreme precision— down to meter accuracy — allowing coordinates to be dispatched to SAR teams to turn "blind" searches into targeted, life-saving missions where every second counts.
Triangulation is based on a technology called Timing Advance. By sending a hidden message to the missing phone, we can estimate its distance from the base station based on how quickly the phone responds. By forcing a handover to another base station, we establish two reference points, and then a third reference point. The missing person is located within a radius of 100 meters. Coordinates are being sent to the SAR team.
*Animation create by Telia Norway.
STEP-BY-STEP
Avalanche rescue with Telia and REX
1. Emergency call received: An emergency alert regarding an avalanche is reported to the authorities.
2. Contacting Telia: The Joint Rescue Coordination Centre contacts Telia and provides the GPS coordinates of the avalanche site.
3. Positioning in REX: The coordinates are entered into the REX system to map out the specific area.
4. Identification of phone numbers: REX identifies all mobile phone numbers located within the affected avalanche zone.
5. Status analysis: Each individual number is analyzed to determine if the users are still trapped under the snow or if they have moved to safety.
6. Targeted search: Telia assists the rescue helicopter with this data, enabling a highly targeted and efficient search operation.
Erica Earnshaw and Terje Lilleåsen
“We enter an area without knowing how many people have been caught in the avalanche, but as long as they are on the Telia network, we can still identify exactly who is beneath the snow. By mapping the entire area, we can see all phones that were in the geographic zone both before and after the avalanche,” adds Terje Lilleåsen, who leads a 24/7 rescue response team."
TERJE LILLEÅSEN | Senior Manager,
Service Operations Center @ Telia Norge
Validated in field
Innovation is only valuable when it works under pressure. Developed and tested alongside Norsk Folkehjelp and Telia’s emergency teams, this solution was proven in real-world avalanche scenarios leading up to Easter 2026.
The results were definitive: REX with Timing Advance maps disaster areas, identifies the exact number of missing persons, and guides rescuers to positions with one-meter accuracy. Whether facing an avalanche, earthquake, or landslide, the Telia-Subtonomy partnership ensures that when the unthinkable happens, the network knows exactly who is there, and where to find them.
Let's talk numbers
30 s
SEARCH RESULTS DELIVERED IN LESS THAN 30 SECONDS
km > m
PHONE PINPOINTED WITH METER ACCURACY INSTEAD OF KILOMETER
90%
FASTER SAR MISSIONS
1
STREAMLINED WORKFLOW IN ONE TOOL
