First and foremost an individual award to Mats Karlsson, this recognition reflects a decades‑long contribution to technological progress. Karlsson was the original inventor of Icomera’s patented multi‑network aggregation connectivity technology, making consistent, high‑capacity Internet to moving vehicles possible. In 2003, that work enabled the first commercial onboard passenger Wi‑Fi service in rail, helping to catalyse a new industry segment and set expectations for the connected journey.
Mats Karlsson: “I’m happy, proud and surprised because the thought of a prize has never crossed my mind. I see it as a recognition of many years of hard work. Engineering has always been about solving real‑world problems elegantly, then scaling those solutions reliably. From the earliest lab tests to today’s fleet‑wide deployments, our goal has been simple: give public transport a connectivity foundation it can trust, so passengers enjoy better journeys and operators gain real‑time insight and control.”
Today, Icomera – now a wholly owned subsidiary of Equans – holds patents across more than 30 patent families. These innovations continue to expand the performance envelope and practical use cases of onboard connectivity, serving tens of thousands of vehicles and millions of passengers every day. The company unifies low‑Earth‑orbit (LEO) satellite, private trackside, and high‑performing cellular networks into a single, operator‑friendly service layer. This powers passenger‑visible improvements such as reliable Wi‑Fi and richer journey information, as well as operational value through real‑time system monitoring and video analytics.
Catherine Chardon, CEO, Icomera: “On behalf of everyone at Icomera, I congratulate Mats on receiving Sweden’s Polhem Prize, his vision for reliable onboard connectivity has shaped our industry. Over the past year we’ve reinforced our position – becoming an authorised reseller of SpaceX’s Starlink for trains to stay at the forefront of improving connectivity and, building on that foundation, enabling the next generation of connected applications such as AI-powered Automatic Passenger Counting solutions.
“Our commitment to helping operators unlock smarter, data-driven services, through connectivity, is clear: we are their trusted partner, turning innovation into dependable, fleet-wide value.”
About the Polhem Prize (Polhemspriset)
Christopher Polhem (1661–1751) was one of Sweden’s most prominent innovators of all time. Every year, the Swedish Association of Graduate Engineers awards the Polhem Prize – Sweden’s oldest technical award. The prize was established in 1876 and next year the Polhem Prize celebrates its 150th anniversary. The Polhem Prize is awarded for high-level technical innovation or for an ingenious solution to a technical problem. The innovation must be available on the open market and be competitive. Previous Polhem Prize winners include Baltzar von Platen and Carl Munthers for the refrigerator (1925), Håkan Lans for colour graphics and transponder for positioning systems with GPS (1995), Petra Wadström for the water purifier Solvatten (2013), Ludvig Strigeus for the technology behind Spotify (2020) and Christopher Ahlberg and Staffan Truvé for the cyber protection Recorded Future (2023). https://polhemspriset.se/
About Icomera
For over two decades, Icomera has been the world’s leading provider of onboard connectivity solutions. We enable millions of passengers to connect every day with the fastest, most reliable and secure Internet connection currently available to a moving vehicle. Today our networks have the power to fully integrate tens of thousands of vehicles into the cloud, paving the way for a vibrant new world of smart, connected transportation. In the future, our network connectivity will empower a bold new generation of safer, more efficient and sustainable transport solutions. We aim to be the partner of choice for those on the smart, connected journey that lies ahead.
A wholly owned subsidiary of Equans, Icomera is headquartered in Gothenburg, Sweden, operating across Europe and North America with key offices in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, the United States and Canada. Icomera.com
About Equans and Equans France
A subsidiary of the Bouygues group, Equans is a global leader in the energy and services sector. In France, Equans France relies on its historical brands Ineo, Axima, and Bouygues Energies & Services, as well as a strong territorial presence, to support companies, local authorities, and industries in facing the challenges of the triple energy, industrial, and digital transition. Able to operate at every stage of the project lifecycle, Equans France mobilizes its 35,000 employees to design, install, and provide tailor-made solutions that optimize clients’ equipment and usage, thereby improving the energy performance and efficiency of infrastructures. Its expertise covers electrical and climate engineering, refrigeration, fire safety, facility management, multi-technical maintenance, IT, telecommunications, and digital solutions. Globally, the Equans group is present in 20 countries with 90,000 employees across 5 continents and generated revenue of 19.2 billion euros in 2024. In the same vein, its subsidiary Equans France achieved revenue of 7.2 billion euros in 2024 and operates in nearly 30 different countries. www.equans.fr | www.equans.com
Image: Mats Karlsson, Chief Technology Officer, Icomera (View Full Resolution)