5G at sea: T-Mobile expands network to North Sea

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5g at sea t mobile expands network to north sea
5g at sea t mobile expands network to north sea

T-Mobile will also offer fast 5G connections on the North Sea. The telecom company obtained the license at a frequency auction from the government.

As a result , T-Mobile is the first Dutch provider to expand its 5G network over the 700MHz band to the busiest and most navigated area at sea. According to the government, this concerns important communication for, for example, personnel on oil platforms, for wind farms and for ships.

Since the launch of its 5G network in 2020, T-Mobile has already been offering its network in parts of the direct coastal area of ​​the North Sea. That is up to and including approximately 22 kilometers from the coast. The auction will enable the company with its network to cover the entire economically exclusive zone of the Netherlands in the North Sea.

T-Mobile calls this an “important step for the rapidly digitizing sectors in this area, both pleasure boating and fishing, as well as in other professional shipping, such as pilotage, the rescue brigade, the coastguard and wind farms”.

Almost 1 million euros

The government auction consisted of various bidding rounds and raised a total of 975,000 euros. Of this, 325,000 euros will be paid by T-Mobile. Permits have also been issued to Tampnet , which mainly focuses on offshore communication. Those licenses relate to other frequencies.

Alternative to satellite

With the advent of 5G at sea, an alternative to satellite communication can be created. The fast mobile connections can be used for private company networks or automation of business processes, but also for communication with sailing and flying drones.

Next 5G auction: 3.5 Ghz band

At the beginning of next year, a  new 5G auction will take place, which should yield at least 300 million euros. During the 5G auction, the frequencies will be distributed on the 3.5 GHz band. These enable connections at much higher speeds.

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Last summer, the Netherlands auctioned frequencies for 5G internet for the first time. KPN, VodafoneZiggo and T-Mobile together paid  more than 1.2 billion euros  to be able to use the three designated frequency bands. These were bands that make internet possible less quickly, but have a greater range in terms of distance. The radio waves of the 3.5 Ghz band reach much less far.