Tampnet has closed its acquisition of the BP Gulf of Mexico (GoM) fiber network.
The acquisition of the GoM fiber network replicates Tampnet’s position in the North Sea and cements the company’s ambitions and willingness to invest in the GoM.
After having received regulatory and governmental approvals, all documents were signed and the transaction completed on earlier this year after the initial agreement with BP was signed in July 2020.
Trygve Hagevik, CCO Tampnet, said: “The acquisition of BP’s GoM fiber network represents one of the most significant milestones in the history of this company. We promise to nurture, develop and expand the fiber network and related technologies and services over the next 15-20 plus years.
“Our aim is to grow our GoM business through providing exceptional value to our customer base – as the industry continues to leverage new technologies and digitalization in their quest for safer, greener and more efficient operations offshore.
“As with our North Sea network, we will make it simple, risk free and cost effective to connect new field developments to the existing fiber infrastructure – as opposed to the costly alternative of running new fiber to shore.”
Tampnet plans to expand and develop the subsea fiber infrastructure and has already kicked off a turnkey fiber project – adding 300km to the existing 1,200km of fiber and connecting an additional two to three deep water assets.
Tampnet’s infrastructure build-outs typically also include 4G/5G LTE coverage – in essence providing a wireless extension of the fiber connectivity and allowing access for any drilling, subsea and marine operation around the fields.
It offers full mobility enabling and future proofing the connectivity solutions for the production asset itself and any operation within a 30 miles radius. This includes existing and future connected field worker solutions, IoT solutions such as sensors, remote medical support, connectivity for drones and autonomous vessels.
Roaming
Additional LTE coverage from Tampnet also means improved welfare and safety in the Gulf of Mexico. AT&T subscribers can now use their regular subscriptions offshore at no extra cost and with no limitations on data speeds. This includes the recently launched Voice over LTE service (VoLTE).
FirstNet coverage
AT&T coverage also means FirstNet coverage – the new, national and government-led first response network built by AT&T. The value of FirstNet and roaming, on a ubiquitous and seamless network during a serious offshore incident, would be invaluable. Tampnet’s expansion and development of the GoM fiber network will continue to improve on and add to this.
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