- Nokia confirmed its Tampnet 5G deal, which we first reported in August
- Tampnet has operations in the North Sea and the Gulf of Mexico
- SNS Telecom has told Fierce that Tampnet's rivals include Telenor Maritime
Nokia has confirmed that it is replacing Ericsson and Huawei radios across maritime operator and private network provider Tampnet's global footprint in order to move to 5G.
This news comes after Fierce first reported the vendor swap in August. Tampnet is using Nokia AirScale 5G radios across its on-sea network. It started its 5G rollout with the Aker BP Edvard Grieg rig private network on the Norwegian continental shelf in the North Sea in July this year.
Now Tampnet is updating its operations in the Gulf of Mexico and its global footprint. This will include deploying Nokia 5G technology across its entire footprint of 120 active base stations, as well as extending coverage to up to 400 platforms, rigs, floating production storage and offloading units, wind farms and vessels.
“With Nokia’s 5G technology, we are taking a significant step towards modernizing our offshore networks in the Gulf,” said Arnt Erling Skavdal, CTO of Mobile Technology at Tampnet, in a statement. “This investment will enable us to meet the evolving connectivity and automation needs of offshore industries, enhance worker safety, and unlock new digital applications that were not possible before.”
We can assume that Nokia sees the Tampnet private network deployments as "mission-critical" rather than "enterprise campus" deals. Or it just loves the feel of the sea!
Deep-sea rivals
SNS Telecom & IT's 5G research director, Asad Khan, has told Fierce that Telenor Maritime also operates an LTE/5G-ready offshore mobile service for the oil and gas industry in the Norwegian section of the North Sea. Tampnet, however, has spread its operations across several parts of the world, including off the coast of the U.S.
The company also offers a maritime network on vessels in the North Sea. Tampnet said that, “access is available for all vessels working in our coverage area - drilling rigs, service vessels, fishing vessels and yachts - as well as for crew members.”