High-speed connectivity at sea saves lives, protects the environment, and ensures stable growth of a safe, secure and smart blue economy. JET Connectivity provides vital 5G connectivity at sea for reliable communications and real-time data collection via robust floating networks.
The company was founded by James Thomas after he lost all power, electronic navigation and communication abilities whilst on a sailing race and unable to contact anyone.
The lack of connectivity at sea has huge safety implications as well as costing companies, such as those in the offshore wind sector, enormous amounts of time and money. As the offshore industry continues to develop, and industrial installations and operations are established further out to sea, an improved communications solution is required.
JET’s technology is developed in-house and enables reliable, fast connectivity and live data streaming to the maritime industry.
JET provides network coverage in the same way as on-land mobile network operators by providing access to the network per Gb or area coverage. Unlike the current set-up, where companies who can afford it use satellite communications that requires a terminal to receive the signal, with JET Connectivity, the coverage works on phones and other devices with a simple sim card.
The system is hosted on buoys, which transmit coverage sharing information between each other and sending what is required back to shore. In addition to the network itself, the buoys have a range of sensors, which collect information such as sea state, weather and 4K video. This invaluable information is streamed live across the network.
The system has undergone various lab and field testing, focusing on software, hardware and the whole system, while some durability testing has been undertaken in the water to test range. JET is now working on longer pilot developments to run throughout 2023 to fully test the durability of the buoy platforms.
JET has deployed its smallest platforms as a surf conditioning monitoring system and an aquaculture monitoring system and its mid-sized platform as the base station. The company is now working on larger platforms to service the offshore wind sector further out at sea.
ORE Catapult’s Launch Academy arranged for JET to be introduced to a host of key contacts. Reflecting on Launch Academy, Izzy Taylor from Jet Connectivity said: “The multiple workshops and one-to-one sessions with experts across different sectors of the business have been great and we have also benefitted from getting to know the other founders and ORE Catapult team.
“Since taking part in Launch Academy, we have successfully launched our 5G base station buoy platform, secured over £1.5m in funding and customer sales, moved our engineering team into a workshop and office space and hired seven new staff members.
“If you are considering whether to apply to ORE Catapult’s Launch Academy programme, we would wholeheartedly encourage you to do so. There is a range of support available depending on your own business needs which can drive your growth and direction.”
