Leonardo, an international defense and security leader, and Tampnet, the world's largest offshore communications provider, have formed an agreement to create a first-in-class communications offering for the offshore energy sector.
Together, the firms will be the first to offer ‘mission critical’ broadband communications (MCX) to offshore energy operators, employing the same high standards as militaries and emergency services to ensure robust and seamless critical communications over broadband. The offering meets the latest modern standards set by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI)’s Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP).
The new agreement will enable offshore energy operators to transition their communications infrastructure to fully digital technology, while being confident that communications will remain reliable. This includes being able to depend on strong and stable broadband voice, data and video links, with unprecedented uptime.
Leonardo and Tampnet bring complementary expertise to the agreement. Tampnet operates in the North Sea, Gulf of Mexico, Trinidad & Tobago and Canada, providing critical, high-speed connectivity for oil and gas, offshore wind, and carbon capture industries. Its network includes over 5,400 km of subsea fiber-optic cables, as well as 600,000 square km2 of 4G/5G coverage and in excess of 200 fully managed microwave links. Leonardo has more than 50 years’ experience designing, delivering and supporting mission-critical communications in over 50 countries, including for public safety and emergency services, civil protection agencies and homeland security authorities.
Leonardo provides a Mission Critical Communications (MCX) family of software capabilities that encompasses mission critical control rooms, MCX core services, MCX user clients and integration with operational support systems/business support systems. Now, in as part of the new agreement with Tampnet, offshore energy operators will be able to take advantage of the same standard of 5G LTE communications, across all users and platforms, that is required when lives are on the line.
Ensuring that customers remain ready for the future, Leonardo/Tampnet mission-critical communications meet the standards set by ETSI 3GPP, which unites seven telecommunications standardization bodies from across Asia, Europe and North America. This will enable the introduction of more and more LTE/5G core and RAN (radio access network) mobile technology to customers, as they embrace the opportunities offered by migrating to fully digital systems. Leonardo and Tampnet will be able to support customers with a managed migration from legacy TETRA and DMR narrowband radio communication systems to the customers’ choice of digital-ready communications devices and infrastructure.
In the digital age, where successful operations depend upon investing in digitalization, reliable connectivity is essential. Leonardo is a global leader in secure, digital capabilities, including mission-critical communications, bringing its capabilities to the offshore energy sector by working together with Tampnet, a noted leader in the market.
Most of the services Tampnet provide are regarded as mission critical, thereby increasing safety of people and operations of offshore oil and gas installations—critical for the world's energy supply. With the increasing focus of digitalization and building 5G coverage offshore, both in and around these critical offshore assets, it would be a missed opportunity not to leverage this infrastructure for MCX and mission critical services.
