Nokia has been selected by Kingston Freeport Terminal Limited (KFTL) to deploy the first private wireless network at the container terminal of the Caribbean port. The network was installed and will be deployed by Nokia Channel Partner EGC International.
It is worth noting that KFTL’s Digital Transformation journey has become a reference in the Americas due to the adoption of new technologies such as the Nokia DAC (Digital Automation Cloud), and MXIE, a high-performance, end-to-end wireless private network and industrial digitalisation platform.
Carlos Cabrera, chief operating officer of KFTL, commented, “We are committed to continually improving our operations safely and keeping innovation as part of our DNA. Nokia’s LTE and 5G private wireless network is a key component of KFTL’s strategy to drive endpoint productivity and security.”
In fact, both technologies are going to be deployed at KFTL to deliver industrial-grade connectivity and edge computing capabilities.
Use cases include critical communications support for the Terminal Operation System (TOS) and other operational systems and applications, connectivity for more than 100 VMTs (Vehicle Mounted Terminals), cranes and trucks, as well as the deployment of more than 100 tablets and 260 devices (push-to-talk over LTE) for staff.
Additionally, up to 1,300 devices will be connected. In this way, it will be possible to remotely operate and monitor the terminal equipment in real-time.
According to a recent survey by Nokia and GlobalData with 79 multinationals that have deployed Nokia industrial-grade private wireless solutions, nearly 80% of survey respondents expected to achieve Return on Investment (ROI) within six months of deployment.
A Nokia expert told Container News that ports have many use cases that require low latency and very high availability and most OT critical use cases require the data to stay on site for security and data sovereignty purposes.
Therefore, these factors combined point directly to the use of MXIE to treat the OT raw data locally, thanks to a range of Nokia and 3rd party digitalisation applications, and offer a very responsive high-reliability service.
In particular, DAC private wireless and MXIE are easy-to-manage end-to-end high availability systems that help port digital transformation resulting in higher ports efficiency, flexibility, worker safety, security and sustainability, all of which have been shown in ports customers Nokia has deployed in, according to the Nokia expert.
Additionally, a Nokia representative said the private LTE network is operational and meeting expectations with improvements in data and voice connectivity, offering widespread coverage, high data speeds, low and consistent latency, push-to-talk, and push-to-video capabilities.
There’s virtually no loss of connectivity as employees move among access points. These enhancements, based on Nokia benchmarks, are projected to boost productivity at KFTL by 11% (container moves per hour) and increase efficiency by 5% (reducing the cost per move).
Regarding the most important supply chain technology challenges in recent years, Nokia points out the lack of deployment/technology expertise in private wireless, energy consumption and ESG, and justifying return on investment (ROI).
