Verizon Business wins multisite private 5G contract fueling a multibillion dollar regeneration project
What you need to know:
Verizon Business, in collaboration with Nokia, will deliver multiple Verizon Private 5G Networks to industrial campuses across the Thames Freeport, one of the UK's busiest maritime logistics and manufacturing regions.
The Thames Freeport is a designated UK 'Free Trade Zone,' established to boost economic growth, create high-value jobs and attract global investment as part of a long-term effort to revive the UK's River Thames Estuary region.
Thames Freeport will use Verizon Private 5G to enhance port operations with AI-driven data analytics, autonomous vehicle control, real-time logistics orchestration, innovation research & development, and more.
LONDON, June 25, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Verizon Business, Thames Freeport and Nokia today announced a strategic partnership to deploy Verizon Private 5G Networks across multiple key logistics, manufacturing, and innovation sites along the River Thames Estuary in the United Kingdom. The Verizon Private 5G Networks will serve as the technology foundation for a multiyear, multibillion dollar operational transformation and economic revival for the region, one of the busiest maritime logistics hubs in the United Kingdom.
The Private 5G Networks buildout provides a scalable, long-term connectivity foundation for advanced data, AI, edge compute, and IoT infrastructure deployments aimed at transforming port and manufacturing operations.
The technological enhancements will play a direct role in boosting the local economy, underpinning job training and reskilling efforts as part of employment initiatives and supporting innovation and research & development collaborations among Freeport tenants and outside corporate, government, and research entities. Thames Freeport has already created 1,400 jobs and plans to reach 5,000 by 2030, with a focus on high-skilled training for local communities.
Private 5G Deployments at Thames Freeport
The Verizon Private 5G Networks will enable advanced data and application capabilities for AI-driven data analytics, predictive maintenance, process automation, autonomous vehicle control, safety monitoring, and real-time logistics orchestration. Nokia is the sole hardware and software provider for the networks, which will incorporate the Nokia Digital Automation Cloud (DAC) platform and Nokia MX Industrial Edge (MXIE). The Verizon Private 5G Networks will be deployed to the following:
DP World London Gateway and DP World Logistics Park, the UK's largest and most integrated deep-sea container port and logistics facility, with port capacity to handle over 3 million units per year. The hub includes a rail terminal with 20 daily services and a 9.25 million square foot high-tech logistics center.
Port of Tilbury, the largest of the mixed-use Thames Freeport ports. Tilbury handles 16 million tonnes of cargo per year across 31 independent working terminals. Operated by Forth Ports, the sites comprise a crucial logistics hub for the construction, automotive and food & drink sectors.
Ford Dagenham, the largest manufacturing site in London, this unique location gives access to regional manufacturing clusters, proximity to suppliers, and brings key production closer to the end market.
Executive Statements
'Our partnership with Thames Freeport and Nokia shows the full promise of private 5G at scale. Thames Freeport is developing one of the most technologically advanced commercial corridors in Europe to enable forward innovation and economic revitalization for an entire community,' said Jennifer Artley, SVP, 5G Acceleration at Verizon Business. 'We're not just driving operational improvements to help a partner stay ahead of the curve; we're laying the groundwork for new revenue streams, community development, and further commercial and technological investment.'
'A flexible, high-performance connectivity platform is critical to our long-term vision,' said Martin Whiteley, CEO, Thames Freeport. 'Our investment in private 5G is not an incremental network upgrade—it's the backbone of a technological transformation fueling our long-term multi-stakeholder mission, which includes operational excellence for tenants; ROI for shareholders like Ford, DP World and Forth Ports; innovation leadership for public and private benefit; circular economy models supporting efficient energy models; empowering community development by enabling high-value job creation and training; and transforming public services with near-real time diagnostics at health-service sites. By partnering with Verizon Business and Nokia, we're delivering the technology needed to propel our region to the front of the leading edge.'
'Private wireless and industrial edge are the foundations for the digital transformation of industrial sites, and the Thames Freeport deployment is a landmark example of this evolution at scale. This is one of the largest commercial private 5G rollouts in a European port incorporating the Nokia DAC platform. This network will allow Thames Freeport to overlay advanced use cases such as AI-driven data analytics, predictive maintenance, process automation, autonomous vehicle control, safety monitoring, and real-time logistics orchestration,' said David de Lancellotti, VP of Enterprise Campus Edge Sales at Nokia. 'Together with Verizon Business, we're proud to be enabling the infrastructure that will help Thames Freeport drive new efficiencies, sustainable growth, and long-term economic opportunity for the region.'
Fueling Growth
The Thames Freeport has a mission of economic regeneration and operational excellence, centered on stimulating trade, fostering innovation, supporting energy transition, creating jobs and improving the lives of the people around it. Private 5G Networks from Verizon Business can help enable a range of strategic priorities at Thames Freeport sites in service of that mission.
Select priorities include enabling advanced technology layers such as AI, edge computing, and IoT across active industrial sites where Freeport stakeholders can collaborate on new applications. For example, industrial sites can leverage IoT for autonomous yard tractors and quay cranes and for near real-time tracking, smart routing, and condition monitoring for cargo. That can allow tenants to intake cargo, assess quantity and condition, and ship it out faster and more efficiently, losing less to damage or misplacement. Additionally, AI with edge computing can help manage environmental impact through edge-connected smart sensors and AI-driven analytics that monitor and optimize port operations and asset performance, including near-real time monitoring of emissions, air and water quality, and noise levels.
Managing the use of the Verizon Private 5G Network infrastructure will be the responsibility of Thames Freeport and its tenant shareholder organizations. This ensures fit-for-purpose connectivity that adapts to site-specific requirements while safeguarding data and operational autonomy.
Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE, Nasdaq: VZ) powers and empowers how its millions of customers live, work and play, delivering on their demand for mobility, reliable network connectivity and security. Headquartered in New York City, serving countries worldwide and nearly all of the Fortune 500, Verizon generated revenues of $134.8 billion in 2024. Verizon's world-class team never stops innovating to meet customers where they are today and equip them for the needs of tomorrow. For more, visit verizon.com or find a retail location at verizon.com/stores.
VERIZON'S ONLINE MEDIA CENTER: News releases, stories, media contacts and other resources are available at verizon.com/news. News releases are also available through an RSS feed. To subscribe, visit www.verizon.com/about/rss-feeds/.
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