A Norwegian offshore drilling contractor is installing a multitude of communications technologies on its harsh-environment semi-submersible rig
Island Drilling has contracted Tampnet to provide a communications stack for the harsh-environment semi-submersible Island Innovator.
Tampnet has a five-year contract with Island Drilling to deliver high-speed connectivity between the 2012-built, GM4000 WI design well drilling and intervention rig.
Low-earth orbit (LEO) satellite backhaul from SpaceX’s Starlink and Eutelsat OneWeb will be provided along with Tampnet’s long-term evolution network around the North Sea and its multi-carrier low-footprint, high-speed /fibre backbone (T-Fast)
Tampnet said it will combine this with an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven orchestration layer that automatically routes each data packet over the optimal path, while a managed private 4G/5G network delivers data and communications across the entire rig.
“Island Innovator operates in some of the world’s toughest conditions,” said Island Drilling chief executive Roger Simmens. “Tampnet’s multi-layer network and private 5G capability will let our crews work smarter and safer while enabling our rig for the digital future”.
This will be deployed and fully operational before Island Innovator commences its next North Sea campaign in Q4 2025.
