With digitalization spreading its wings across offshore operations, Norway’s offshore drilling contractor Island Drilling has handed out a multi-year deal to Tampnet, a compatriot provider of offshore high-capacity and low-latency connectivity services, to enhance the digital capabilities of its semi-submersible rig ahead of its upcoming assignment in the North Sea.
The five-year connected rig contract with Island Drilling will see Tampnet deliver a fully managed private 4G/5G network on the Island Innovator harsh-environment rig, combining low-earth orbit (LEO) satellite back-haul from Starlink and One Web, integrated with the Tampnet North Sea LTE and T-FAST multiple carrier, low-footprint, high-speed antenna microwave/fibre backbone to ensure seamless connectivity wherever the rig operates.