A major Italian multinational corporation, a global reference in the energy engineering and infrastructure industry, with a consolidated experience in offshore operations, commissioned us to design a custom made communication system for 15 naval units of its fleet, of different sizes.

These highly specialized units are dedicated to drilling, construction, heavy lifting and laying of subsea pipelines, all of which are key activities in offshore fuel extraction and transportation.

The challenge: reliable communications in critical environments

The customer’s request presented multiple challenges motivated by the type of cargo and the complex structure of the ship. The combination of these critical factors ensured potential blind spots and signal loss inside the ship, typical of high metal reflection environments, which made it necessary to design an ad hoc system by placing DECT cells in strategic locations.

A further critical issue came from some areas of the ship being classified as explosion hazardous (ATEX), so both the cells and devices used in those areas necessarily had to comply with specific ATEX standards.

The solution: a custom DECT system

The designed system is based on a Spectralink DECT platform, consisting of six physical servers and two virtual servers, connected to about 130 ATEX-certified cordless phones. To ensure coverage of the entire naval unit, 300 IP-DECT cells were installed, and carefully placed at strategic locations.

The highlight of this project are SRB-IP-ATEX cells, designed by TECNEL to ensure safety and regulatory compliance. In hazardous areas, the cells were installed within these cells, which were specially developed for ATEX environments.

In addition, the system can automatically adapt to the expected DECT frequencies in different geographical areas, enabling the ship to maintain stable and continuous communications while underway.

The results

Thanks to the solution designed by TECNEL, with the support of partner Spectralink and supplier Allnet.Italia, our client has achieved a significant improvement in the quality and reliability of on-board communications.