By Peter Cohen
Jet Engineering System Solutions has announced the successful deployment and testing of a floating 5G base station, a proof of concept the company hopes will spur further investment in solutions designed to improve maritime telecommunications access. Now the company’s looking for partners to take its business to the next step.
The Jet-4 Babel platform hosted the base station, which was able to connect on the water to the company’s offshore Jet-3 Arial buoy. The buoy, equipped with subsurface cameras, was able to stream video in realtime to the testing team.
“This proof of concept allows Jet to provide the first fully functional floating 5G network at sea, which can extend for miles offshore, providing high bandwidth with high-speed delivery across significant distances,” said the company.
The Arial buoy had been previously used by Jet to demonstrate livestreaming underwater 4K video delivered via 5G. In that test, the Arial buoy transmitted live video from under the surface of the ocean using a private 5G Standalone (SA) network provided by Wessex Internet. The live video provided local aquaculture business Jurassic Sea Farms with a view of its underwater crops.
As with that effort, Jet was supported in this most recent effort by funds disbursed from the U.K. Department for Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport (DCMS) through the 5G RuralDorset effort. 5G RuralDorset is described as “a ground-breaking project to understand how next-generation connectivity can help people live better, safer and more prosperous lives in rural communities.”
The programme is looking specifically at 5G solutions which can accelerate changes in public safety, improve economic growth, enhance food production and improve environmental quality. The 5G RuralDorset project’s “Connected Coast” effort seeks to improve public coastal safety in the rural coastside area, which is located in southwest England on the English Channel coast.
The 5G RuralDorset program has already yielded coastal safety trials for 5G including the deployment of Jet’s surf condition monitoring buoys, and includes what 5G RuralDorset claims is the UK’s first integration of satellite backhaul within a 5G network, and the world’s first 700 MHz standalone 5G network.
In June, Latvian telco LMT announced a partnership with port services provider Rigas Brivostas Flote (RBF) to create and deploy maritime 5G starting with ship-to-ship communication, in the Baltic Sea. The first demonstration of the technology is scheduled for next year in the Gulf of Riga. LMT and RBF see maritime 5G as a driver of future growth throughout the Baltic.
“5G network connectivity holds a massive innovation and digitalization potential for the maritime sector and ports. However, implementing 5G-enabled solutions at sea faces many challenges, notably – ensuring offshore 5G network infrastructure,” explained LMT in a statement.
Ericsson ONE said in 2020 it was working on a point-to-point 5G solution for maritimers. The company said it was trying to break “the satellite-based monopoly over the seas” by offering higher-performance and lower-cost wireless broadband connectivity, geared towards IoT-based sensor and analytics-based automation technologies, as well as for critical communications.
Much of the focus on 5G non-terrestrial network deployment has centered around low earth orbit satellites and stratospheric platforms, including hot-air balloons and solar-powered drones. Efforts like 5G RuralDorset, Ericsson ONE’s research and LMT/RBF’s efforts demonstrate maritime 5G as emerging as a potentially important market vertical. For now, though, it’s very much at a nascent stage.
Jet, a relative newcomer to the scene, is planning further research and development to help advance its 5G maritime ambitions. With data collection and base station operation now proven, Jet plans to build a maritime network. A company spokesperson told RCR Wireless Newsthat Jet’s plan is to deploy a network of multiple buoys, meshed to stream data, and to develop sensors and other tech to help address current maritime needs.
