China Mobile builds a green 5G network in the middle of the ocean

Who: China Mobile

What: Built a 5G network covering 216 kilometers of shoreline in Jiangsu and a vast sea area spanning 23,000 square kilometers to improve safety for workers in the fishing and maritime industries, reduce carbon emissions, and protect the environment

How: Partnered with wind power companies to build the network and with Huawei on a management platform that draws on the ODA, Open APIs, AIOps Framework and digital twin best practices

Results:

• 5G mobile penetration of 95% for fishermen has reduced rescue time and eliminated drowning deaths
• China mobile reduced time to market by 84% and capex by 77%
• Wind companies realized cost savings of $8 million via electricity reduction and O&M improvement
• Reduction of 720 tons in carbon dioxide emissions and 860,000 kWh of electricity per year, plus protection of more than 20 million fishes

Every year, there are more than 100,000 fishing-related deaths globally. Ship collisions, fires and other accidents onboard vessels, and drownings are some of the serious threats workers in the fishing and maritime industry face every day.

These challenges are well understood in Jiangsu, the second-largest province in China, which boasts a vast coastal region with a sea area of 37,000 square kilometers and a 954-kilometer coastline spanning 26 cities and towns. With a thriving marine and fishing industry, Jiangsu’s waters support a fishing population of nearly 140 million annual visits and see daily activity from 15,000 ships.

In 2023, China Mobile and Huawei began collaborating with wind energy companies to build a 5G network in the ocean and along the coast of Jiangsu. On top of this network, they developed innovative “Green 5G+ mobile network with Ocean Care” services that combine Marine IoT (MIoT), scientific expertise, and 5G technology to improve the safety and well-being of workers, boost energy efficiency and protect the environment.

Building the network

A key challenge for China Mobile was figuring out how to provide comprehensive 5G coverage across the vast water area, particularly in the sea. The waters around Jiangsu are challenging to navigate. During the past decade the area has experienced 159 typhoons, resulting in a record of more than 3,000 shipwrecks.

To address the challenges, China Mobile formed strategic partnerships with multiple wind power companies, which played a pivotal role in the deployment of the offshore mostly public mobile network. Using existing wind turbine towers, subsea fiber cables and 100% wind power, they built a zero-carbon network comprising 153 5G base stations and eight integrated dynamic beam base stations.

Today, the network covers 216 kilometers of shoreline and a huge area of the ocean spanning 23,000 square kilometers, extending 5G coverage up to 50 kilometers from the shoreline. Innovative hardware and software technologies are used to optimize performance and coverage. For example, use of 5G+ dynamic enhanced beam technology enables China Mobile to extend coverage to distant areas such as fish farms, marine enforcement locations and research stations.

Developing the platform

The 5G network is managed using a platform developed by Huawei called GNED (Green Network Evaluation & Design), which provides AI functionality and interoperability with partners. The teams that built the network and management platform used many TM Forum standards and best practices for talent development and organizational design, use of AI in Operations (AIOps), and digital twin creation.

For example, China Mobile used the Digital Talent Maturity Model (DTMM) to identify gaps in skills and knowledge among employees involved in the project, particularly when it comes to energy management. To develop the GNED platform, Huawei relied on TM Forum’s AIOps Framework, drawing on defined closed-loop processes to connect the platform with the operations support systems (OSS) in China Mobile’s network operations center (NOC).

The GNED platform was used in two Moonshot Catalyst proofs of concept sponsored by China Mobile and other communications service providers (CSPs) such as STC, Openserve and MTN. The projects, conducted in 2023 and 2024, focused on sustainability challenges, with learnings contributing to evolution of the GNED platform.

China Mobile and Huawei also relied on the Open Digital Architecture (ODA) and Open APIs to interconnect China Mobile with various partners including wind power companies, a fish farm’s monitoring platform and Jiangsu Ocean University.

Rolling out services

The network and GNED platform enable China Mobile to provide innovative services targeting multiple participants in the value chain. Ocean Transportation Safety services, for example, are designed to improve the safety of fishermen and marine workers through enhanced connectivity and real-time communication. This enables timely weather updates, emergency response coordination and efficient navigation assistance.

The results are a safer working environment and reduced risks associated with adverse weather conditions or accidents at sea, according to China Mobile. Continuous connectivity not only improves the mental and emotional well-being of workers by allowing them to stay connected with their loved ones, but also attracts new talent to the marine industry.

Fishing Industry Enabling services aim to drive productivity and provide business opportunities. Fishermen are able to utilize advanced technologies such as IoT devices, autonomous drones and real-time video streaming to optimize their fishing operations, which leads to increased efficiency, improved catch quality and expanded market opportunities.

Finally, Ocean Resources & Environment Protection services provide connectivity to research vessels, allowing scientific teams to collaborate and access real-time data. These services also facilitate implementation of IoT-based environmental monitoring systems, enabling scientists to track and analyze marine ecosystems, identify potential threats and implement conservation measures.

Compelling results

The network is resulting in quantifiable benefits across the value chain.

Benefits for workers

Before the Green 5G mobile network, only 1% of fishermen had satellite connectivity. Today, more than 95% have 5G mobile connectivity, and their monthly communication expenses are down by 90% compared to satellite phones. This service ubiquity has increased safety. For example, 5G geolocation services have reduced rescue time from an hour to minutes, and an AI-powered drowning prevention system deployed in public waters was able to detect around 500 incidents per year. As a result, successful life rescuing rate was improved to 98.2% in 2023.

Business benefits

China Mobile is realizing significant business benefits as a result of the Green 5G network. The company has been able to reduce time to market for new services by 84%, and it has been able to cut capex by 77%.

Eleven wind farms have been deployed in collaboration with the network. Through 5G IoT solutions provided to the power companies, overall wind power generation efficiency has increased 35%, and the companies have realized a total cost savings of $8 million via electricity, operations and maintenance improvement.

Benefits for the environment

The 5G network is also helping to protect the environment in Jiangsu, which includes a UNESCO World Natural Heritage site featuring coastal migratory bird sanctuaries. The network has resulted in the reduction of 720 tons in carbon dioxide emissions and 860,000 kWh of electricity per year. In addition, more than 20 million species of fish have been protected via 5G coverage for fish farms.

Now, China Mobile and Huawei are looking at how this successful model can be extended to cover the entire 14,500-kilometer-long shoreline of the China Sea.