Ericsson and Maritime Communications Partner (MCP), a leading global maritime communications operator headquartered in Arendal, Norway, have signed an agreement under which Ericsson will enable MCP to improve network performance management and strengthen communication services on offshore installations.

Ericsson will deploy Ericsson System Performance Analyzer (ESPA) to improve MCP’s offshore LTE services. Data will be collected from MCP’s network through its operations support systems and remote service gateway. The data is stored and processed in Ericsson’s datacenters.

ESPA is a software platform providing an overall network performance management solution that supports quality assurance and performance governance, capacity monitoring and cut-over benchmark. It also supports incident and customer complaint analysis. The solution collects statistical data from various sources in the network to evaluate network performance, and presents the data to users through an intuitive and flexible web-based interface.

The solution provides a comprehensive range of data analysis and diagnostic capabilities and allows MCP to proactively filter, select and display detailed views of network performance.

Since its inception in 2002, MCP has had extensive technology cooperation with Ericsson. Based on an original frame agreement signed in 2005, MCP uses Ericsson’s technologies to offer mobile phone connectivity aboard cruise ships and ferries all over the world, providing global coverage through leading suppliers of maritime satellite services.

“With our 4G offshore network in place on the Norwegian Continental Shelf it will be important to monitor the network and service performance to continuously develop the communication services on offshore installations. This will enable large scale operation as we expand our offshore networks globally. We are confident that our long term partnership with Ericsson is an enabler to succeed offshore,” says Knut Fjellheim, CTO, MCP.

Aksel Aanensen, Head of Ericsson Norway, says: “With this project we further extend our partnership with MCP and enable them to provide even better services to their maritime customers. With service performance becoming an increasingly important differentiator in the telecom market, we are positive that this solution will enable MCP to meet growing user expectations.”

Earlier this year Statoil, a Norwegian multinational oil and gas company with operations in 36 countries and ranked by Forbes Magazine as the world’s eleventh largest company of its type, signed a six-year contract with MCP. MCP will deploy and operate a high speed 4G network for Statoil on the Norwegian continental shelf.