T-Mobile has partnered with roaming partner Tampnet to provide affordable mobile service to North Sea users such as wind farms.
T-Mobile is increasing network coverage giving customers of T-Mobile, Tele2, BEN and Simpel a cheaper alternative to satellite or VHF radio. Connection via the roaming network will save Internet users in the North Sea thousands of euros per gigabyte, T-Mobile said. The strong coverage, improved capacity and affordable rates apply to both calls and data. Mainly offshore services, wind farms and ships, which navigate Europe’s busiest shipping route, could benefit.
Thibaud Rérolle, Chief Technology Information Officer at T-Mobile said, “We challenge ourselves every day to deliver world-class quality and provide our customers with the best possible network experience wherever they are. All at a fair and affordable rate. The expansion of our own network in the North Sea and the cooperation with Tampnet is a good step forward. This accelerates the development of wind farms, for example, but also the Dutch offshore industry. We won’t stop until everyone is connected.”
Useful for all North Sea users
Everyone benefits: fishermen, pleasure sailors, commercial shipping, pilotage, customs, Coast Guard and the Royal Dutch Rescue Society (KNRM) and so do wind farm builders. That includes the employees of CrossWind (a joint venture between Shell and Eneco) who are currently building the new Hollandse Kust Noord wind farm in the area off the coast of Egmond aan Zee. Bas van den Kieboom, wind turbine project engineer at CrossWind: “Thanks to the new connection, we will be able to commission the wind farm faster and more efficiently because we will now have mobile internet access on our installation vessels. The mobile network will also play a crucial role in communication between sea and land. Think of communication with the Coast Guard and KNRM in case of emergencies during work on the wind farm, but also communication with our wind turbine experts on the mainland.”
Coverage in North Sea
In 2021, T-Mobile won the auction of licenses to provide 5G coverage over 700 MHz in the North Sea. Thanks in part to that license, T-Mobile continued to expand its 4G/5G network in parts of the North Sea area last year. This was done by placing additional antennas on land towards the North Sea, but also through expansion of T-Mobile set-up points taking advantage of offshore wind farms. Now the T-Mobile North Sea service has been further expanded with the cooperation and access to the Tampnet offshore network. This coverage is available to every subscriber. Source: T-Mobile
