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Broadband at sea will (soon) be possible thanks to 5G

Satellites in low orbit, drones, or stratospheric balloons: the telecom sector relies on innovation and cooperation to build a seamless 5G connectivity experience from land to sea.

What provides connectivity at sea? Today, no contract broadband without landline, geostationary satellites still mainly offer speeds limited to a few hundred kb / s, which is the equivalent of the first ADSL boxes. This is sufficient to cover the main current uses such as voice transport.

However, the sea is seeing more and more data and advanced services pass through: a collection of technical information from machines on board ships, provision of VOD or remote virtual reality, etc.

No 4G at sea?

In addition, the licenses of operators in France stop at the coastline. Mobile networks, therefore, do not cover the sea, even if, in practice, it is commonly found up to a few kilometers from the coast. If Orange is equipping 400 ships, it is thanks to its Satellites Business Unit. Distributor of satellite offers for more than 40 years, Orange covers 100% of maritime routes and 90% of the surface of the globe. Embedded on a ship, its Maritime Connect box constantly seeks the best match between the means of connectivity, its price, and the service required on board.

With 5G, change of orbit

A major evolution of satellite devices promises a whole new destiny for connectivity at sea. Many players in the sector are investing in the launch of constellations of satellites in low earth orbit, known as LEO (Low Earth Orbit). Located between 500 km and 2000 km above the surface, these satellites fly in coordinated sets and, unlike their predecessors, they are mobile. Within a decade, cheap broadband without contract will be able to deliver up to 1 Gb / s and more, both upstream and downstream. Broadband at sea is a very near reality.

National and international cooperation

3GPP, a global meeting of telecom operators and suppliers, had never considered connectivity services at sea. For the first time in fifty years, the consortium approached satellite managers to include them in the discussion ongoing around the standardization of 5G at sea. We can thus imagine continuity between 5G services on land and connectivity at sea.

A co-innovation platform opens to share thoughts and projects and include other actors, such as antenna or software suppliers.

Other avenues for 5G at sea

3GPP explores many technological avenues. 5G at sea could be covered from the stratosphere, using balloons or drones carrying radio equipment. At 20 km above the ground, that is to say above air traffic, we would for example be able to support the increase in traffic between the mainland and Corsica.

Much lower still, at an altitude of 800 m, we could use a network of captive balloons, connected by cable to ships forming a network at sea. By creating their own network, rescue boats equipped with this technology could optimize their operations. rescue operations.

Finally, from land, we could concentrate a land mobile network in the direction of the near sea. These data navigation lanes would be useful for automated maritime patrols or for fisheries control: expensive helicopters would be replaced by drones returning images in real time.

For sailors, travelers, yachtsmen, in the future, broadband without phone line no contract, constellations of satellites in low orbit is keeping watch.