Connecting Taiwan’s forests: How satellite IoT is powering real-time disaster prevention

01-05-2026

5-Minute read

Summary

Taiwan’s forests face growing wildfire and flood risks. Dense mountains and limited infrastructure make real-time monitoring almost impossible, leaving communities vulnerable when disasters strike.
Creative5 is redefining connectivity in hard-to-reach places. Their satellite IoT innovation, Hestia, makes near-global coverage practical and easy to deploy — even in rugged terrain.
Satellite IoT bridges the gap. Compact Hestia dongles and cloud-based alerts deliver reliable connectivity for remote sensors, enabling early detection and rapid response to protect people and ecosystems.

Meet Creative5: Driving connectivity where it counts

Based in Taiwan, Creative5 is an IoT connectivity specialist, developing hardware for environments where staying connected is difficult but essential. Combining manufacturing expertise with deep experience working with emerging network standards, Creative5 focuses on making advanced connectivity practical, dependable and easy to deploy — particularly in regions where terrain, distance or infrastructure gaps limit traditional networks.

One of Creative5’s flagship innovations is Hestia, a compact, plug-and-play NTN satellite IoT dongle designed to extend connectivity far beyond the reach of terrestrial coverage. Built to 3GPP Release 17 standards and powered by the MT6825 NTN chipset, Hestia enables devices to move seamlessly between satellite and earth-based mobile networks.

In practice, that means teams can deploy monitoring and sensing technology in remote locations without redesigning their systems or relying on fragile, bespoke communications setups.

And by simplifying access to near-global connectivity, Hestia allows organizations to focus less on whether data can be transmitted, and more on how that data can help them become responsive and efficient.

Safeguarding forests: The connectivity challenge

Covering more than half of the island, Taiwan’s forests span coastal lowlands to high mountain ranges, creating one of the most ecologically varied forest systems in the region. These forests also act as a natural shield against flooding, making them a vital part of life for the communities that live alongside them.

However, Taiwan’s geography leaves these environments increasingly exposed to natural disasters, which are becoming more frequent as a result of climate change. More than half of the country lies at high altitude, where dense terrain and limited access mean incidents can escalate quickly. In mountainous regions, a small ignition or subtle environmental shift can turn into a major event before anyone is aware it’s happening, especially in areas where traditional monitoring tools and communications infrastructure simply cannot reach.

Flooding and wildfires threaten not only flora and fauna, but people’s safety and livelihoods too, with wildfires in particular capable of causing rapid, long-lasting damage once they take hold. Taiwan’s Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency is collaborating with Creative5, the National Ilan University and Viasat to take on the problem. To protect these environments effectively, Taiwanese forestry agency needed a way to see what was happening in real time.

From risk to resilience: Direct-to-device connectivity for real-time insight

To protect these environments, organizations needed to see what is happening in real-time. They needed a network that that was reliable enough for remote terrain, fast enough to support early intervention, and cost-effective enough to scale across high-risk forest regions.

Creative5 brings its energy management expertise and satellite IoT capabilities to the project, alongside its CeresHub cloud platform. Working closely with the university, the team is developing a monitoring architecture that extends direct satellite connectivity into areas where conventional communications struggle to operate.

Hestia plays the gateway role in the field. Using Viasat’s NB-NTN service over our highly reliable global L-band satellite network, the dongle connects back to the cloud while also communicating locally with multiple sensor nodes via LoRaWAN.

These sensors continuously monitor environmental indicators that can signal wildfire risk, including CO₂ levels, thermal energy and drops in ambient humidity. When abnormal patterns are detected, CeresHub issues alerts via the cloud, enabling rangers to carry out rapid inspections and intervene before a potential fire can spread.

And because the dongles are compact and designed for low-touch deployment, the team has been able to install monitoring points in locations that were previously out of reach for traditional communication architectures.

By integrating NTN satellite connectivity with terrestrial networks and ultra-low-power system design, we have demonstrated that IoT systems can operate reliably even in the most challenging locations, with long-term deplorability.

Ming-Tsung Chen, CEO of Creative5

Impact delivered: Smarter protection for Taiwan’s remote regions

This project gives Taiwan a meaningful opportunity to strengthen disaster prevention and improve communication across its forest environments, particularly in high-altitude regions where early awareness and fast response can make the difference.

By adopting satellite connectivity using 3GPP-aligned NTN standards, the team is building an infrastructure approach that is more affordable, stable and scalable than many bespoke alternatives. Just as importantly, it establishes a flexible foundation for expanding the use of environmental IoT applications over time.

With continued support from Viasat’s NB-NTN service and our global L-band satellite network, there are plans to scale the deployment across higher-risk fire zones in Taiwan and Southeast Asia — helping protect people, wildlife and critical ecosystems for the benefit of future generations.