Verizon builds a private 5G network at the Port of Southampton

Jennifer Artley, SVP of Strategic Initiatives for Verizon Business, catches up with Light Reading after her keynote on Verizon's private 5G network deployment at the Port of Southampton, the UK's largest port.

Southampton struggled to provide reliable Wi-Fi onsite and partnered with Verizon and Nokia to become the first mainland UK port with access to a 5G network. The UK port now uses 3.7GHz spectrum, which is similar to the midband C-band in the US. In addition, the network spans seven transmission sites running Nokia equipment, whereas the port's Wi-Fi network uses 200 access points.

"With this private 5G network, we closed those [Wi-Fi] dark spots completely in a more cost-effective way than it would have been to put fiber in place," said Artley.

The first use case tested at the port on the private 5G network centered around health and safety by using drones to inspect cranes after storms.

Artley also explains how Verizon is collaborating with other verticals to improve customer experience through 5G deployments.

This interview was recorded at the Big 5G Event in Denver.

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