LTE-M, Nationwide Coastal Waters Trial Underway

Location and verification zone map of LTE-M base stations (263 sites).

[Asia Economy Reporter Jusangdon Joo] The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries announced on the 17th that starting from the 18th, it will begin real-sea area testing nationwide to establish a high-speed maritime wireless communication network (LTE-M) capable of transmitting large-capacity data up to 100 km offshore by the end of this year.

Last year, the Ministry built infrastructure including LTE-M base stations and network operation centers at 263 coastal locations nationwide, and in December successfully transmitted large-capacity data at an average communication speed of over 10 Mbps up to 100 km offshore through a real-sea area test between Pohang and Ulleung.

Building on this, the current real-sea area test will expand nationwide by installing LTE-M transceivers on a total of 85 vessels including local maritime administration public ships, coast guard vessels, passenger ships, merchant ships, and fishing boats to provide stable e-Navigation services across South Korea via LTE-M starting in 2021.

The Ministry will measure LTE-M performance and optimize base stations along the national coastline through real-sea area testing until August, and plans to verify LTE-M communication quality through the Korea Information and Communication Association.

Once this work is completed, a nationwide LTE-M pilot operation will commence from September to December this year. Through the pilot operation, the communication network will be optimized and service quality improved, with full-scale LTE-M adoption and the world's first implementation of e-Navigation services planned from 2021.

With the introduction of e-Navigation, real-time streaming of electronic nautical charts up to 100 km offshore, optimal route guidance, and real-time customized maritime safety information will help prevent vessel collisions and groundings. In the event of maritime accidents, linking with disaster safety communication networks will secure the golden time for disaster response based on voice and video communication, minimizing damage.

Hong Soonbae, head of the Advanced Maritime Traffic Management Team at the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, said, "The world's first LTE-M adoption will lay the foundation for South Korea to lead the fourth industrial revolution in the maritime sector in the future," adding, "We will ensure smooth provision of e-Navigation services through LTE-M and proceed without delay with the post-real-sea area test processes."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.