- Fierce looks over what’s happening with private networks on or near water
- Tampnet is deploying a private network on LLOG Exploration’s Salamanca rig
- LMT is deploying a private network at a container terminal in the port of Riga
Let’s take a look at the shipping forecast on private networks and communications in the maritime world.
Tampnet in the Gulf
Offshore communications network operator Tampnet has been chosen to deliver a private 5G network and other digital connectivity to LLOG Exploration’s Salamanca rig, deploying a network to the refurbished Independence Hub FPS, a previously decommissioned but updated deepwater rig, operating in the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf of America).
Tampnet said that it has extended its subsea fiber backbone by 87 miles and expanded its 4G/5G coverage by approximately 6214 miles to reinforce its position as a provider as a digital backbone for the Gulf’s offshore energy industry.
Anders Tysdal, Tampnet’s CTO, has previously told Fierce in August that the company is in the process of replacing Ericsson and Huawei 4G radios with Nokia 5G units across its entire footprint. Tysdal said that HPE will supply the cores for Tampnet’s private 5G networks, while Mavenir will provide the cores for the public facilities.
Private 5G in Riga
Baltic telecom operator Latvijas Mobilais Telefons SIA (LMT) has been demonstrating the applications that can be run on its recently deployed 5G private network at the Baltic Container Terminal (BCT) in the Freeport of Riga, Latvia. This includes push-to-talk devices for group communications, tablets, including those mounted on forklifts, data transmission from cranes, drones for aerial inspections, a remotely controlled boat and a small submarine, which is a so-called underwater drone.
"Plans are...underway to wirelessly connect video surveillance cameras,” SNS Telecom & IT’s 5G research director Asad Khan noted.
According to an LMT executive, the operator has so far only tested autonomous guided vehicles (AGVs) on the new network. "We have tested using AGVs and the network is prepared for AGV implementation, but at this exact project no AGVs are deployed yet. Still there are other test networks where we have deployed AGVs," Karlis Vilcins, head of system integration business at LMT told Fierce.
"The network was put into production mode operation Q1 of this year," Vilcins noted. "It was launched in test mode in Q3 2024."
The Baltic Container Terminal, which spans 57 hectares and handles approximately 250,000 containers annually, faced numerous connectivity challenges with its previous Wi-Fi infrastructure. “Our previous experience with Wi-Fi in larger outdoor and indoor areas at the terminal was not perfect. Weak coverage, data loss, and limited speed hindered our operations,” Dmitry Kiselyev, LMT’s CEO said in a statement.
“As per our database, LMT – through its systems integration subsidiary Santa Monica Networks – has also recently won a tender for the design and implementation of a private 5G network at the Port of Klaipėda in neighboring Lithuania, which is scheduled for completion in 2026," SNS analyst Asad Khan said.
LMT's Vilcins noted that the operator used Nokia 5G RAN for the port deployment. LMT used Druid Software's Raemis core platform for the private 5G network.