Ericsson and Ooredoo Qatar partner for offshore cellular network

• The 4G network will connect Ooredoo’s oil and gas enterprise customer’s facilities with arriving ships.
• Ericsson will be designing a special ATEX-certified enclosure for the radio network to meet the challenging operating conditions and the safety requirements of the oil and gas offshore operation while providing reliable network performance for customer’s operations.

Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) has partnered with Ooredoo Qatar to supply and implement a 4G network for its oil and gas enterprise customers. The network will be deployed offshore to connect the oil and gas enterprise customer’s facilities with arriving ships.

As Ooredoo Qatar’s radio access network (RAN) supplier, Ericsson will work closely with the service provider to enhance network infrastructure and enable reliable connectivity offshore. The partners will deploy Ericsson Radio System equipment to establish offshore connectivity between the oil and gas enterprise customer's facilities and ships. The solution will also serve Ooredoo Qatar’s commercial users in the area.

Thani Al Malki, Chief Business Officer of Ooredoo Qatar, says: “Ooredoo Qatar is committed to providing our enterprise customers with the best possible connectivity solutions. Our collaboration with Ericsson on this project allows us to leverage our extensive network infrastructure, modernized with Ericsson's technology and expertise as our RAN supplier, to provide our oil and gas enterprise customers with a cutting-edge offshore 4G network. We are proud to be a part of this innovative project and look forward to its successful implementation."

To meet the demanding and complex working conditions in an offshore oil and gas environment, Ericsson is designing a special enclosure for its radio equipment that is ATmosphere EXplosible (ATEX) Zone 2 certified. This will ensure that the equipment meets the challenging operating conditions and the safety requirements the oil and gas offshore industry, while still providing reliable network performance and connectivity.

Kevin Murphy, Vice President and Head of Ericsson Levant Countries and Global Customer Unit Ooredoo Group at Ericsson Middle East and Africa, says:” We are excited to be working on this project with Ooredoo Qatar to provide a robust and reliable 4G network offshore for its oil and gas enterprise customer that is also 5G-ready. By designing an ATEX-certified enclosure to ensure that our equipment can withstand the challenging offshore environment, we look forward to supporting Ooredoo Qatar’s customers in the coming years during their digital transformation. We are confident that our expertise and collaboration with Ooredoo Qatar, which has seen massive RAN and infrastructure upgrades in recent years, will deliver the high-quality connectivity that its oil and gas enterprise customers require.”

A proof of concept (PoC) for the solution has already been deployed on one site, with major execution planned in the near future. This project represents a unique use case in the oil and gas industry and demonstrates the power of collaboration with communication service providers (CSPs) to deliver tailored solutions for enterprise customers.