KPN and Norwegian telecoms supplier Tampnet are expanding 4G coverage for business customers. This was done by both parties through the construction of an offshore antenna network in the North Sea. This expands the coverage area of ​​the KPN network to more than 5,000 km2, comparable to the area of ​​North Brabant province.

The collaboration was announced at the Maritime Offshore & Sustainable Technology (MOST) symposium at The Hague University of Applied Sciences.

Jacob Groote, responsible for business markets at KPN, said that the North Sea had long been an impossible place for mobile coverage. This is caused by poor weather conditions and too little economic activity. According to Groote, this achievement is now thanks to collaboration with special parties such as Tampnet. Norwegian is a specialist in offshore fiber optic networks and even claims to own and operate the largest high-capacity offshore fiber network in the world. This network connects 350 platforms and various vessels in the Norwegian, Danish, Dutch and British parts of the North Sea. This is a 4G/LTE offshore network. This network connects Norway and the UK directly and offers the lowest latency between Norway, the UK and North America.

Expansion of coverage area

By 2020, business users working at sea will have mobile coverage of up to three hundred kilometers from the Dutch coastline, which is an extension of 285 kilometers. Currently, workers on drilling platforms and wind farms, as well as fishermen and defense personnel, still use more expensive satellite and radio connections, which, according to KPN, provide poorer performance and also require special equipment. After expanding the coverage area, they can use a regular mobile device with a second SIM card and work in the same way as on a landline.

Tampnet will build a total of ten masts with 25 antennas in the Dutch part of the North Sea, half of which are already complete. The new infrastructure is part of the larger Tampnet network, which also covers the UK and Norwegian parts of the North Sea. Business customers will also have access to 4G services here.

Groote indicated that the model will be expanded in the future, so that customers can cover the entire North Sea. According to him, this model is also future-proof and offers the opportunity to develop into a comprehensive 5G network in the North Sea.