Verizon Wins Private 5G Contract for Thames Freeport in UK: Boosting Industrial Applications and Operational Transformation
(Reuters) - Verizon Business has secured a contract to establish multiple private 5G networks at Thames Freeport, one of the busiest shipping and logistics hubs in Britain. The U.S. telecom giant announced the agreement on Wednesday, in collaboration with Finland's Nokia.
The agreement will enable Verizon to deploy private 5G networks across various industrial sites along the River Thames Estuary, including major ports and Ford's largest manufacturing facility in London. Private 5G networks offer dedicated connectivity that avoids the congestion and speed variations of public networks shared by multiple users, enabling advanced industrial applications such as artificial intelligence (AI).
The adoption of 5G in European ports is still in its early stages. The technology allows ports to handle larger volumes of data needed to run or track cargoes, cranes, drones, and industrial sensors. The companies did not disclose the financial details of the agreement, only describing it as supporting a "multibillion-dollar operational transformation" of the region.
Thames Freeport is a 34-kilometer-wide economic corridor established in 2021 as a designated UK "Free Trade Zone," offering a range of tax incentives and reliefs to businesses as part of efforts to revitalize the Thames Estuary region.
Verizon has been working with Nokia to develop private networks for manufacturing and logistics companies in international markets where it lacks its own public network infrastructure. The networks will serve DP World London Gateway and DP World Logistics Park - Britain's largest deep-sea container port handling over 3 million units annually - the Port of Tilbury, and Ford's Dagenham plant.
Use cases will include AI-driven data analytics, predictive maintenance, process automation, autonomous vehicle control, safety monitoring, and real-time logistics orchestration, according to Verizon.
(Reporting by Gianluca Lo Nostro in Gdansk; Editing by Matt Scuffham)
Verizon's successful bid for a Private 5G contract at Thames Freeport in the UK stands as an encouraging milestone, demonstrating how cutting-edge technology can drive industrial applications and facilitate operational transformations that boost efficiency.
The award of a Private 5G contract to Verizon for Thames Freeport in the UK underscores its potential to transform industrial applications and operational efficiency through secure, high-speed wireless connectivity.
