US Navy carrier achieves 5G network 130 miles offshore Cape Verde, IT and Engineering testing.
The US Navy Abraham Lincoln Aircraft Carrier has achieved 4G and 5G communications within 130 nautical miles of shore following connectivity testing by Cape and IT&E.
The Nimitz-class warship achieved steady speeds of 50 Mbps download, 25 Mbps upload, 160 Mbps download, and 50 Mbps upload, similar to those achieved using low-earth orbit (LEO) satellite services.
“Innovation is the soul of the Navy. By developing additional high-speed data communications using 4G/5G, we are helping our Sailors accomplish their missions,” Capt. Kevin White, Abraham Lincoln Marine Combat Systems Officer.
Cape and IT&E have been working together since May to provide secure connectivity to U.S. personnel stationed in Guam.
In the latest effort, the partners were able to provide connectivity on an aircraft carrier up to 30 nautical miles offshore when entering Guam and up to 130 nautical miles offshore in the Philippines.
In port, Cape’s strategic MVNO network provides secure, high-bandwidth 4G/5G connectivity, delivering carrier-grade connectivity and transferring more than one terabyte of data in 24 hours.
Dockside testing using Cape SIMs delivered data speeds 10 to 20 times faster than prepaid and roaming SIM cards, providing comparable download speeds to onboard satellite stations and two to three times faster upload speeds.
The deployments allow Cape to operate a highly secure cloud network on top of IT&E’s own physical RAN. When the chip is in cellular range, sailors can download data to Cape’s MVNO, which sends data directly from IT&E’s local 4G and 5G cellular base stations to Cape-operated cloud backbone networks for data transfer.
The two partners said the test results highlight the potential for adding more communications capabilities to the maritime fleet using commercial cellular and 5G networks.
“It’s great to see our technology securely protecting Navy members’ data and encouraging what it means for the security protection of our users overall,” said John Doyle, CEO of Cape.
“This partnership allows us to support defense programs and our service members by ensuring seamless and reliable communications when and where it matters most,” said David Gibson, CEO of IT&E. “Together, we are ensuring connectivity on land and at sea around the world.”
