Ericsson has paired with Qatari mobile operator Ooredoo to provide its oil and gas enterprise customers with ruggedized 4G network connectivity.

The network will be deployed offshore to connect the oil and gas enterprise customer’s facilities with arriving ships.

Ooredoo will deploy Ericsson's radio system equipment to achieve offshore connectivity between the oil and gas enterprise customer's facilities and ships.

A proof of concept has already been deployed on one site, with major execution planned in the near future.

The vendor noted the complex working conditions in an offshore oil and gas environment, and said it is "designing a special enclosure for its radio equipment that is ATmosphere EXplosible (ATEX) Zone 2 certified."

This enclosure will enable the equipment to meet the challenging environments and safety requirements, it said.

”By designing an ATEX-certified enclosure to ensure that our equipment can withstand the challenging offshore environment, we look forward to supporting Ooredoo Qatar’s customers in the coming years during their digital transformation," added Kevin Murphy, VP and head of Ericsson Levant Countries and global customer unit Ooredoo Group at Ericsson Middle East and Africa.

"We are confident that our expertise and collaboration with Ooredoo Qatar, which has seen massive RAN and infrastructure upgrades in recent years, will deliver the high-quality connectivity that its oil and gas enterprise customers require.”

"Our collaboration with Ericsson on this project allows us to leverage our extensive network infrastructure, modernized with Ericsson's technology and expertise as our RAN supplier, to provide our oil and gas enterprise customers with a cutting-edge offshore 4G network," said Thani Al Malki, chief business officer of Ooredoo Qatar.