Eurogate: Telekom creates 5G campus networks in port terminals

5G for the Digitalization of Port Logistics: Europe’s independent container terminal operator Eurogate has commissioned Deutsche Telekom to implement three 5G campus networks. At the ports in Hamburg, Bremerhaven, and Wilhelmshaven, the 5G business customer solution "Campus-Netz L" will improve mobile coverage at the container terminals. This will enable the container terminal operator to use digital logistics applications more securely and flexibly in the future – with exclusive bandwidth, high availability, and full 5G performance, according to Telekom.

In addition to Telekom’s public mobile network, Eurogate will also use its own 5G industrial frequencies in the range of 3.7 to 3.8 gigahertz (GHz) for critical data traffic – for example, for further digitalization of handling processes or closer networking of handling equipment with control and process control systems. The project has now been officially launched at a kick-off event at the Port of Hamburg.

Digitalization of Port Logistics Thanks to the Funding Project "Port-As-A-Service" 

The project "Port-As-A-Service" is funded under the directive "Digital Test Fields in Ports" by the Federal Ministry for Digital Affairs and Transport (BMDV). Here, the establishment of digital test fields in ports is supported to create real-world testing environments for innovations in the field of Logistics 4.0. The realization of 5G campus networks along with other digital infrastructure measures at Eurogate, with a project volume of 3.7 million euros, is being funded with 2.9 million euros under the directive and is accompanied by TÜV Rheinland as the project sponsor of the directive. The goal of "Port-As-A-Service" is to leverage the opportunities of digitalization for German seaports and to optimize investments in infrastructures. For Eurogate, the opportunities lie, among other things, in:

• the networking of control and process control systems,
• the automation of container handling through the use of automatic and/or autonomous port handling equipment,
• the support of container arrival and delivery through autonomous trucks,
• and the connection of industrial port handling facilities (IIOT) to the cloud and the use of data within the framework of a digital twin of a container terminal.

"A powerful and reliable technical infrastructure is the foundation for making container handling at our terminals even more efficient and securing our competitiveness sustainably," says Michael Blach, Chairman of the Eurogate Group Management Board. "The 5G campus networks of Deutsche Telekom will provide us with the best prerequisites for further automating our processes and testing innovative logistics solutions based on 5G."

Light Masts Become 5G Antenna Carriers

The Telekom campus networks will cover a total area of 5.6 million square meters at the three container terminals with the latest mobile communication standard. This corresponds to an area of around 785 soccer fields. On the one hand, existing mobile communication facilities on site will be expanded. On the other hand, Telekom will install three additional 5G radio sites on the terminal grounds in Bremerhaven (2.9 million square meters) and Hamburg (1.4 million square meters) and two in Wilhelmshaven (1.3 million square meters). The special aspect: No new masts will be erected; instead, existing light masts will be used as carriers for the powerful 5G antennas. The build-out of the three 5G campus networks will be completed by spring 2024.

“The 5G coverage of EUROGATE's container terminals is one of our largest campus network projects to date. EUROGATE will thus be able to utilize the full potential of 5G to further optimize logistics processes and advance the digital transformation of the port terminals,” says Hagen Rickmann, Managing Director Business Customers at Telekom Deutschland GmbH. “In addition to powerful 5G connectivity and exclusive bandwidth, the network architecture of the three campus networks will offer a particularly high degree of control over critical data traffic on the terminal grounds in the future.”

Own 5G Frequencies for EUROGATE

Telekom will equip the port terminals with a so-called dual-slice campus network. In this way, a public 5G network from Telekom will serve employees, external service providers, suppliers, or customers. The additional purely private 5G network will operate in the local 5G industrial spectrum in the 3.7 to 3.8 GHz range. Unlike Telekom's public 3.6 GHz frequency spectrum, these are 5G frequencies provided specifically for industry by the Federal Network Agency. It offers exclusive assured network resources for EUROGATE's internal data traffic. Data over this part of the network runs separately and completely unaffected by public 5G data traffic. Thus, Eurogate essentially has access to two 5G frequency bands and a total of around 190 MHz of bandwidth.