From Mismatched Fleet to Modernized Standard: An INS Oil & Gas Case Study

Growth in the oil field rarely comes with a tidy network to match. That was the situation for one INS customer, an upstream oil and gas operator, that had acquired a number of new field assets. Those assets came with tank batteries, compressors, RTUs, and PLCs spread across a wide, remote geographic footprint, and each one needed reliable communication back to the team managing it. 

The acquisition presented a good opportunity to look at the legacy devices already in the field and move towards something more controlled, repeatable, and easier for both IT and OT teams to manage. 

The Challenge: A Growing Fleet of Mismatched Legacy Devices

Upstream field assets are rarely in convenient locations. They’re spread across remote sites with inconsistent connectivity, and when a company acquires new assets, it usually inherits whatever legacy configurations came with them. In this case, that meant a mix of different router templates, firmware versions, and carrier configurations — every device set up a little differently, which made coordination between INS, the customer’s IT team, and their OT team more difficult than it needed to be. 

The customer was moving away from legacy devices and needed a modernization path that could scale across a fleet that was only going to keep growing. 

The Solution: Semtech AirLink Routers Built for the Field

INS scheduled a series of calls and meetings between the customer and Semtech, and Semtech became the clear choice. Two things stood out immediately:

1. The ruggedized form factor — available across multiple models with options like C1D2 hazardous-location ratings and protection against dust and vibration
2. The low power consumption of the AirLink RX55

Many RTUs in the field run on solar power, where energy is limited and every watt counts. The RX55’s low wattage was a meaningful addition to the customer’s fleet, on top of the durability benefits these routers are known for in harsh field conditions — vibration, dust, and heat that would wear down less rugged hardware and put production at risk.

Beyond Hardware: A Repeatable Standard Backed by INS CARE

Swapping in better hardware only solves part of the problem. Instead of managing every router as a one-off, INS helped the customer build a repeatable deployment standard — one that let newly acquired assets get deployed consistently, using the same templates, ALMS, and cloud management features across the fleet. 

INS’s provisioning and services team also staged and configured devices before they ever left the warehouse, loading the correct templates, firmware, and carrier settings to help ensure each unit was ready for deployment when  it reached the field. And through INS CARE, the customer gained ongoing technical support, troubleshooting, and RMA coordination — meaning if a device fails in the field, INS can coordinate replacement shipment and return of the failed unit.

With this in place, the customer now has: 

• A ruggedized, low-power router fleet built for solar-powered, remote field deployments
• A consistent, repeatable deployment template across newly acquired and existing assets
• Devices pre-staged and pre-configured before installation, reducing field errors
• Ongoing support and advanced RMA replacement through INS CARE

Why INS is the Right Partner for Upstream Oil & Gas Connectivity

This project is a good example of what INS brings to oil & gas customers beyond hardware. Combining strong Semtech devices with INS’s technical expertise in APN configuration, routing, firmware, and troubleshooting created a solution the customer could actually rely on — and it’s part of why upstream, midstream, and downstream oil & gas operators alike come to INS for their network connectivity. 

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About the Author Benjamin Pompa, Territory Account Manager Benjamin Pompa is a Territory Account Manager for Industrial Networking Solutions, covering the Houston Gulf Coast region. He brings nearly two decades of account management and sales leadership experience, including roles with Verizon Business and Verizon Wireless, to helping industrial and energy customers modernize their field connectivity.