This acquisition supports Tampnet’s investments in the GoM and further solidifies its position as a leading telecoms provider in the region.
Following regulatory and governmental approval, the deal was officially signed off and the transaction completed on Tuesday March 30.
“The acquisition of BP’s GoM fibre network represents one of the most significant milestones in the history of this company. We promise to nurture, develop and expand the fibre network and related technologies and services over the next 15-20+ years,” said Trygve Hagevik, CCO of Tampnet.
“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 digitalisation 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 fibre infrastructure - as opposed to the costly alternative of running new fibre to shore.”
Now that the deal is completed Tampnet plans to expand the subsea fibre infrastructure with the commencement of a turnkey fibre project to add a further 300km to the existing 1200km of fibre and connecting an additional 2-3 deep water assets.
The company’s infrastructure buildouts typically also include 4G/5G LTE coverage effectively providing a wireless extension of the fibre connectivity and allowing access for any drilling, subsea and marine operation around the fields.
In addition, this provides full mobility enabling 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 etc.
Additionally, 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 VoLTE service. AT&T coverage also means FirstNet coverage - the new, national and government-led first response network built by AT&T.
