The UK’s first operational 5G bespoke private wireless network has been successfully deployed by Telent at the Silvertown tunnel construction site in East London, improving the wireless connectivity in the tunnel and enhancing site communications, access management, security and perimeter control.
The network operated by Ferrovial, a global operator of sustainable infrastructure, at the Silvertown Tunnel site connecting the Greenwich Peninsula and the Silvertown district, leverages Telent’s 5G private network services, which is powered by Nokia’s high-performing Digital Automation Cloud (DAC) application platform.
The collaboration has allowed Ferrovial to become its own mobile operator for the Silvertown construction site, driving innovation and transforming efficiency on the site due to the increased connection speeds and number of connected devices, as well as providing greater levels of environmental monitoring for the project and real-time visualisation of the construction site’s progress.
Gerard Donohue, Chief Technical Officer at Telent commented, "This 5G Private Network project for Ferrovial builds on our well-established history and expertise of designing, building, supporting and managing best-in-class mission critical networks. Private 5G networks offer the reliability of an ethernet connection with the flexibility of a wireless connection. In addition to deployments such as this in construction, the technology is ideal for applications including manufacturing facilities, logistics and distribution centres, transport hubs, container ports and campus environments.”
Operational since June, the connectivity is currently available in the southern part of the Silvertown site, located on the Greenwich Peninsula and it is expected to reach the northern area, located on the opposite bank of the River Thames, in the coming months. The twin-bore road tunnel under the Thames is scheduled to open in 2025 and aims to reduce congestion and allow for better transport links.
Telent launched its 5G private network services and test facility at its Warwickshire headquarters to revolutionise communications in a wide range of industrial and commercial settings and major construction sites. This has paved the way for high speed, highly secure connectivity to support a range of applications uses from Internet of Things (IoT) to Push To Talk (PTT) and Push To Video (PTV) communications, adding significant benefits including greater efficiency, innovation and reduced operational costs.
Providing the ability for mission critical wireless communications to be tested, developed and rapidly deployed, organisations now have access to higher bandwidth and low latency for greater levels of operational efficiency, allowing for state-of-the-art technology solutions to be leveraged for process control and automation.