Nokia seals LTE/5G private wireless deal at Port of Seattle

• Agreement follows successful Nokia trial at Oakland International Container Terminal
• Private wireless network to augment Wi-Fi for enhanced redundancy and availability
• Advances era of cable-free port and intermodal terminal operations
• Ultra-reliability with seamless overlapping of LTE Bands B53 and B48

Nokia today announced an agreement with Tideworks Technology, a wholly owned subsidiary of Carrix Inc., to deploy Nokia Digital Automation Cloud (DAC) at the Port of Seattle, Terminal 5.

Introduction of Nokia’s digital automation service platform with high-performance, industrial-grade LTE/5G private wireless networking will deliver major increases in efficiency, worker safety and terminal handling performance by reducing the complexity of port flow.

Capable of delivering seamless connectivity indoors and out across Terminal 5 operations, cranes, trucks and lifts, the deployment of private wireless will enhance communication between logistics parties. Nokia DAC also incorporates ruggedized tablets and smartphones for terminal-wide, mobile voice communications and yard inventory applications.

The agreement follows a successful Nokia DAC proof-of-concept trial at SSA Terminal’s (SSAT) Oakland International Container Terminal (OICT). The trial established that a small number of Nokia DAC private LTE radios, transmitting over a mix of shared and dedicated spectrum, provided superior coverage and reliability than approximately 200 existing Wi-Fi access points located across two Oakland sites.

Amanda Gress, Vice President of IT, Tideworks Technology, said: “The Nokia DAC platform proved its worth in rigorous testing at SSAT’s OICT Oakland terminal. It’s a logical next step to improve our terminal operating system reliability and ramp up future operational applications that require reliable and secure high-bandwidth performance. We look forward to securing and supporting the same kind of mobility, safety and productivity gains at SSAT’s Terminal 5 facility in Seattle.”

Matt Young, Vice President of U.S. Enterprise Sales, Nokia Cloud and Networking Services, said: “These use cases illustrate the benefits of private wireless in a port or intermodal terminal operation. Delivering new standards in network performance, Nokia DAC enables fast, resilient, cable-free operational connectivity. It also incorporates voice services and an edge computing platform that can handle terminal operating system data and industry-specific applications.”

The Nokia private network will be deployed over Band 53 (Globalstar-licensed) and Band 48 (CBRS) to enable seamless switching between bands and cells, while also providing multiple layers of redundancy. Additionally, an on-premise geo-redundant core provides secure, highly available and low-latency data connectivity and control.

Young added: “We look forward to helping Tideworks Technology usher in a new era, where LTE/5G capacity and performance provide a future-proofed infrastructure that enhances terminal capabilities for yard management, worker safety, video surveillance and voice communications.”

Port of Seattle, Terminal 5 is part of the Northwest Seaport Alliance, one of the largest container gateways in North America by total combined inbound and outbound TEU volume. Terminal 5 is undergoing a major modernization project to handle ultra-large container ships.

Nokia DAC platform offers reliable high-bandwidth, low-latency private networking, local edge computing capabilities, voice and video services and a catalog of applications. It is a compact, easy-to-deploy platform, comprising network equipment, a cloud-based operation monitoring system and industrial connectors that ease standard and industry-specific protocol connectivity.

With more than 220 large enterprise customers across industries worldwide, of which over 30 incorporate 5G, and an extensive ecosystem of key partners, Nokia has recently been named leader in private wireless by GlobalData.