Tampnet Inc., the US subsidiary of the Norwegian-based offshore communications provider Tampnet AS, has reached an agreement to acquire Broadpoint LLC, a provider of offshore communications to the oil & gas industry in the Gulf of Mexico.
In addition, Tampnet has entered into a long-term strategic roaming agreement with a telecom carrier.
Broadpoint owns and operates a 2G/GSM (2G) network consisting of around 50 base stations with placements on rigs and platforms in the GoM, as well as certain telecom frequency licenses, and is serving the offshore industry in the GoM. Broadpoint also provides roaming services to telecom carriers who, in turn, offer voice and data services to their clients in remote offshore areas.
“This is an important strategic step for Tampnet’s presence in the GoM and also a great leap for the O&G industry in the region.”
With the acquisition, Tampnet will offer Gulf-wide 4G/LTE (4G) coverage to the O&G industry in the region, its resellers and its roaming partners by upgrading the existing 2G network to offer robust and reliable 4G service, Tampnet said. In parallel to the very strategic acquisition of Broadpoint, Tampnet has entered into a long-term roaming agreement with a telecom carrier – enabling the carrier to utilize offshore 4G infrastructure to offer high-capacity and low-latency data and voice services to its clients in the GoM.
“This is an important strategic step for Tampnet’s presence in the GoM and also a great leap for the O&G industry in the region. We are excited about being able to provide the industry with the latest high capacity and low latency 4G-technology in the same manner as we do in the North Sea. We believe that this will not only enable OPEX reduction potential for the O&G industry, but more importantly, also improve the HSEQ standards,” said Per Helge Svensson , CEO of Tampnet Group.
“Tampnet is already operating the world’s largest 4G/LTE network serving the O&G industry in the North Sea and they are clearly the leading company with skills to build and operate a network infrastructure in a harsh offshore environment. We feel confident that Tampnet can develop the GoM infrastructure to the next level introducing 4G/LTE services,” said Jonathan Foxman , President & CEO of Broadpoint.
[mappress mapid=”2225″]