High seas container shipping, and the broader maritime industry, is set to benefit from real-time AI-based communication and monitoring capabilities, thanks to a new global partnership between Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) and international IoT services provider Net Feasa.
Secure 4G/5G connectivity on board container ships, providing AI-ready data, will improve cargo visibility and increase operational efficiency across the maritime industry, regardless of location in the world’s oceans.
“Maritime operators need secure and reliable connectivity that follows the ship wherever it sails,” says Andres Vicente, Head of Southeast Asia, Oceania and India at Ericsson. “Combined with Net Feasa, we are providing 4G and 5G cellular networks to global container fleets, laying the foundation for data-driven operations and AI-powered services from ship to shore. With container ships as our starting point, the scope of what we can achieve across the entire global shipping industry is enormous. Together, we are shaping the future of intelligent, connected shipping.”
“The digitization of the intermodal supply chain has reached a tipping point,” says Mike Fitzgerald, Chairman and Founder of Net Feasa. “With the advent of agentic AI, we are collecting data from everything that moves, analyzing and securing this data, and enabling carriers to act on this data across their operations. This historic partnership has the potential to transform the global maritime industry not only from an operational efficiency perspective but across employee safety, cargo risk reduction and compliance.”
The growth of 5G deployments in major ports has demonstrated how maritime supply chain service can benefit from connectivity – whether through smart container fleets or individual ships at sea. Based out of the maritime hub in Singapore, the Ericsson-Net Feasa partnership will provide shipowners, shippers and port operators with comprehensive real-time cargo visibility from point of departure to port of destination.
The partnership will enable Net Feasa’s proxy control tower, the only platform currently available that enables complete visibility of all smart-enabled containers on board, and an AI-ready proxy data layer that enables proactive operations across the supply chain.
This solution, which is already deployed globally, is designed to scale and easily connect thousands of assets per vessel. This provides shippers with flexible, future-proof connectivity that can evolve with their digitalization strategy, as the industry matures. Refrigerant monitoring, dangerous goods handling and early heat detection are among the use cases already being managed at sea. The system allows assets to communicate, generating the essential data needed to act on real-time alerts at any time in flight.
Even the smallest changes in cargo status can have implications on the supply chain, so reliable communication at sea combined with analytical capabilities to understand the potential consequences of any exponential changes over long operational periods, can add significantly to efficiency savings or reduce waste or damage in the case of perishable cargo.
In addition to the monitoring, handling and detection capabilities already in place, the two companies have a roadmap for further use cases including expanding connectivity across other types of shipping vessels and ports – enabling end-to-end, SIM-managed visibility and data-driven operations across the connected maritime supply chain.
Net Feasa, a fully licensed mobile network operator, deploys and integrates low-footprint, compact wireless access solutions on board ships, reducing space and power requirements while delivering carrier-level performance. The solutions are designed to support multiple frequency bands, enabling seamless communication across different operating regions and environments.
The internal networks are built using Ericsson Radio System products, including the Radio 4490HP, Radio 2271, Radio Processor 6355 with enhanced AI capabilities, and Power 6309. Ericsson On Demand will deliver core 5G services as a carrier-level service with international roaming on a global scale running on the public cloud. Backward communication between the ships and the backbone network will be achieved using a satellite in low Earth orbit.
Source: Ericsson
