Maritime Multi-Hop Communication Over 5G Networks: A Maritime Testbed Implementation and Evaluation

Seppo Horsmanheimo; Lotta Tuomimäki; Andrea Gentili; Matias Varonen; Sami Ruponen; Kimmo Ahola; Johan Scholliers; Jose Costa; Mika Skarp; Marko Ojennus; Atro Lehtinen; Juha Karppinen; Lasse Nykänen; Andrea Castelli; Daniel Larrosa; Ilba Grillo; Marc Moisand; Daniel Håkansson

doi:10.1109/EuCNC/6GSummit63408.2025.11036934

Maritime Multi-Hop Communication Over 5G Networks: A Maritime Testbed Implementation and Evaluation

Seppo Horsmanheimo^*
, Lotta Tuomimäki^*
, Andrea Gentili^*
, Matias Varonen^*
, Sami Ruponen^*
, Kimmo Ahola^*
, Johan Scholliers^*
, Jose Costa
, Mika Skarp
, Marko Ojennus
, Atro Lehtinen
, Juha Karppinen
, Lasse Nykänen
, Andrea Castelli
, Daniel Larrosa
, Ilba Grillo
, Marc Moisand
, Daniel Håkansson

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference article in proceedings › Scientific › peer-review

Abstract

The maritime sector is undergoing a transformation driven by the ambition to make the ecosystem more sustainable and cost-efficient. New 5G features such as 5G Mobile Integrated Access and Backhaul (mIAB), Public Network (PN) - Non-Public Network (NPN) interaction, and Terrestrial Network (TN) - Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN) connectivity open opportunities to extend 5G coverage and enhance capacity further away from the coastline. This paper describes the third stage of our multi-hop 5G testbed developed in the 5G-ROUTES project. The testbed utilizes two private and two public 5G networks complemented with a OneWeb satellite connection to support cross-border scenarios. A 2-phase validation process was used to ensure sufficient Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 6-7 for maritime trials. The trials demonstrated a successful deployment of a mobile 5G multi-hop system in a maritime environment with the existing 5G technology. We successfully extended 5G coverage and capacity at sea by around 9 km without special network configurations, high transmission powers, or extreme antenna heights.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	2025 Joint European Conference on Networks and Communications and 6G Summit, EuCNC/6G Summit 2025 - Proceedings
Publisher	IEEE Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers
Pages	500-505
Number of pages	6
ISBN (Electronic)	9798350391800
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1109/EuCNC/6GSummit63408.2025.11036934
Publication status	Published - 2025
MoE publication type	A4 Article in a conference publication
Event	2025 Joint European Conference on Networks and Communications and 6G Summit, EuCNC/6G Summit 2025 - Poznan, Poland Duration: 3 Jun 2025 → 6 Jun 2025

Conference

Conference	2025 Joint European Conference on Networks and Communications and 6G Summit, EuCNC/6G Summit 2025
Country/Territory	Poland
City	Poznan
Period	3/06/25 → 6/06/25

Funding

This research has received support from the 5G-ROUTES project (GA 951867), which is funded by the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation program and partially from the national research project IFORGE funded by Business Finland.

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 9 Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure

Keywords

5G
Integrated Access and Backhaul
Maritime Communications
multi-hop
Non-Public Network
Non-Terrestrial Network
Radio Access Network

Access to Document

10.1109/EuCNC/6GSummit63408.2025.11036934

Cite this

Horsmanheimo, S., Tuomimäki, L., Gentili, A., Varonen, M., Ruponen, S., Ahola, K., Scholliers, J., Costa, J., Skarp, M., Ojennus, M., Lehtinen, A., Karppinen, J., Nykänen, L., Castelli, A., Larrosa, D., Grillo, I., Moisand, M., & Håkansson, D. (2025). Maritime Multi-Hop Communication Over 5G Networks: A Maritime Testbed Implementation and Evaluation. In 2025 Joint European Conference on Networks and Communications and 6G Summit, EuCNC/6G Summit 2025 - Proceedings (pp. 500-505). IEEE Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers. https://doi.org/10.1109/EuCNC/6GSummit63408.2025.11036934

@inproceedings{2d60d6305b784934aa9f112c0b633105,

title = "Maritime Multi-Hop Communication Over 5G Networks: A Maritime Testbed Implementation and Evaluation",

abstract = "The maritime sector is undergoing a transformation driven by the ambition to make the ecosystem more sustainable and cost-efficient. New 5G features such as 5G Mobile Integrated Access and Backhaul (mIAB), Public Network (PN) - Non-Public Network (NPN) interaction, and Terrestrial Network (TN) - Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN) connectivity open opportunities to extend 5G coverage and enhance capacity further away from the coastline. This paper describes the third stage of our multi-hop 5G testbed developed in the 5G-ROUTES project. The testbed utilizes two private and two public 5G networks complemented with a OneWeb satellite connection to support cross-border scenarios. A 2-phase validation process was used to ensure sufficient Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 6-7 for maritime trials. The trials demonstrated a successful deployment of a mobile 5G multi-hop system in a maritime environment with the existing 5G technology. We successfully extended 5G coverage and capacity at sea by around 9 km without special network configurations, high transmission powers, or extreme antenna heights.",

keywords = "5G, Integrated Access and Backhaul, Maritime Communications, multi-hop, Non-Public Network, Non-Terrestrial Network, Radio Access Network",

author = "Seppo Horsmanheimo and Lotta Tuomim{\"a}ki and Andrea Gentili and Matias Varonen and Sami Ruponen and Kimmo Ahola and Johan Scholliers and Jose Costa and Mika Skarp and Marko Ojennus and Atro Lehtinen and Juha Karppinen and Lasse Nyk{\"a}nen and Andrea Castelli and Daniel Larrosa and Ilba Grillo and Marc Moisand and Daniel H{\aa}kansson",

year = "2025",

doi = "10.1109/EuCNC/6GSummit63408.2025.11036934",

language = "English",

pages = "500--505",

booktitle = "2025 Joint European Conference on Networks and Communications and 6G Summit, EuCNC/6G Summit 2025 - Proceedings",

publisher = "IEEE Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers",

address = "United States",

note = "2025 Joint European Conference on Networks and Communications and 6G Summit, EuCNC/6G Summit 2025 ; Conference date: 03-06-2025 Through 06-06-2025",

}

Horsmanheimo, S , Tuomimäki, L , Gentili, A , Varonen, M , Ruponen, S , Ahola, K , Scholliers, J, Costa, J, Skarp, M, Ojennus, M, Lehtinen, A, Karppinen, J, Nykänen, L, Castelli, A, Larrosa, D, Grillo, I, Moisand, M & Håkansson, D 2025, Maritime Multi-Hop Communication Over 5G Networks: A Maritime Testbed Implementation and Evaluation. in 2025 Joint European Conference on Networks and Communications and 6G Summit, EuCNC/6G Summit 2025 - Proceedings. IEEE Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, pp. 500-505, 2025 Joint European Conference on Networks and Communications and 6G Summit, EuCNC/6G Summit 2025, Poznan, Poland, 3/06/25. https://doi.org/10.1109/EuCNC/6GSummit63408.2025.11036934

Maritime Multi-Hop Communication Over 5G Networks: A Maritime Testbed Implementation and Evaluation. / Horsmanheimo, Seppo ; Tuomimäki, Lotta ; Gentili, Andrea et al.
2025 Joint European Conference on Networks and Communications and 6G Summit, EuCNC/6G Summit 2025 - Proceedings. IEEE Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, 2025. p. 500-505.

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference article in proceedings › Scientific › peer-review

TY - GEN

T1 - Maritime Multi-Hop Communication Over 5G Networks

T2 - 2025 Joint European Conference on Networks and Communications and 6G Summit, EuCNC/6G Summit 2025

AU - Horsmanheimo, Seppo

AU - Tuomimäki, Lotta

AU - Gentili, Andrea

AU - Varonen, Matias

AU - Ruponen, Sami

AU - Ahola, Kimmo

AU - Scholliers, Johan

AU - Costa, Jose

AU - Skarp, Mika

AU - Ojennus, Marko

AU - Lehtinen, Atro

AU - Karppinen, Juha

AU - Nykänen, Lasse

AU - Castelli, Andrea

AU - Larrosa, Daniel

AU - Grillo, Ilba

AU - Moisand, Marc

AU - Håkansson, Daniel

PY - 2025

Y1 - 2025

N2 - The maritime sector is undergoing a transformation driven by the ambition to make the ecosystem more sustainable and cost-efficient. New 5G features such as 5G Mobile Integrated Access and Backhaul (mIAB), Public Network (PN) - Non-Public Network (NPN) interaction, and Terrestrial Network (TN) - Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN) connectivity open opportunities to extend 5G coverage and enhance capacity further away from the coastline. This paper describes the third stage of our multi-hop 5G testbed developed in the 5G-ROUTES project. The testbed utilizes two private and two public 5G networks complemented with a OneWeb satellite connection to support cross-border scenarios. A 2-phase validation process was used to ensure sufficient Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 6-7 for maritime trials. The trials demonstrated a successful deployment of a mobile 5G multi-hop system in a maritime environment with the existing 5G technology. We successfully extended 5G coverage and capacity at sea by around 9 km without special network configurations, high transmission powers, or extreme antenna heights.

AB - The maritime sector is undergoing a transformation driven by the ambition to make the ecosystem more sustainable and cost-efficient. New 5G features such as 5G Mobile Integrated Access and Backhaul (mIAB), Public Network (PN) - Non-Public Network (NPN) interaction, and Terrestrial Network (TN) - Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN) connectivity open opportunities to extend 5G coverage and enhance capacity further away from the coastline. This paper describes the third stage of our multi-hop 5G testbed developed in the 5G-ROUTES project. The testbed utilizes two private and two public 5G networks complemented with a OneWeb satellite connection to support cross-border scenarios. A 2-phase validation process was used to ensure sufficient Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 6-7 for maritime trials. The trials demonstrated a successful deployment of a mobile 5G multi-hop system in a maritime environment with the existing 5G technology. We successfully extended 5G coverage and capacity at sea by around 9 km without special network configurations, high transmission powers, or extreme antenna heights.

KW - 5G

KW - Integrated Access and Backhaul

KW - Maritime Communications

KW - multi-hop

KW - Non-Public Network

KW - Non-Terrestrial Network

KW - Radio Access Network

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105010578370

U2 - 10.1109/EuCNC/6GSummit63408.2025.11036934

DO - 10.1109/EuCNC/6GSummit63408.2025.11036934

M3 - Conference article in proceedings

AN - SCOPUS:105010578370

SP - 500

EP - 505

BT - 2025 Joint European Conference on Networks and Communications and 6G Summit, EuCNC/6G Summit 2025 - Proceedings

PB - IEEE Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers

Y2 - 3 June 2025 through 6 June 2025

ER -

Horsmanheimo S , Tuomimäki L , Gentili A , Varonen M , Ruponen S , Ahola K et al. Maritime Multi-Hop Communication Over 5G Networks: A Maritime Testbed Implementation and Evaluation. In 2025 Joint European Conference on Networks and Communications and 6G Summit, EuCNC/6G Summit 2025 - Proceedings. IEEE Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers. 2025. p. 500-505 doi: 10.1109/EuCNC/6GSummit63408.2025.11036934

Maritime Multi-Hop Communication Over 5G Networks: A Maritime Testbed Implementation and Evaluation

Abstract

Conference

Funding

UN SDGs

Keywords

Access to Document

Other files and links

Fingerprint

5G-ROUTES: 5th Generation connected and automated mobility cross-border EU trials

Cite this

Maritime Multi-Hop Communication Over 5G Networks: A Maritime Testbed Implementation and Evaluation

Abstract

Conference

Funding

UN SDGs

Keywords

Access to Document

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Projects

5G-ROUTES: 5th Generation connected and automated mobility cross-border EU trials

Cite this