Nokia and Liberty Global have introduced a partnership through which Liberty Global’s Belgian subsidiary Telenet makes use of Nokia’s Network as Code platform with developer portal to reinforce the operational effectivity and providers provided on the Port of Antwerp, one of many world’s largest.

To help the creation of recent community use circumstances for the port, builders use Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) and Software Development Kits (SDKs) – accessed by way of Nokia’s Network as Code Platform with developer portal – to acquire community performance and information. This entry permits builders to construct new functions to be used circumstances that they’ll promote to their very own prospects.

In a latest trial on the port, the 2 firms demonstrated how Liberty Global by way of Telenet’s 5G standalone community with slicing capabilities can enable remotely-located captains to function vessels extra safely and effectively, supported by real-time information made obtainable by way of ultra-low latency community capabilities and zero-touch automation.

The trial – which represents part of Liberty Global’s Network as a Service program (NaaS) – was carried out with Belgian companions Seafar NV, a transport entity, and imec, a analysis and innovation hub for nanoelectronics and digital applied sciences. The trial used Nokia’s Network as Code Platform with developer portal, together with imec’s edge software middleware that bridges the hole between the vessel’s real-time necessities and the 5G community. These had been built-in into Seafar’s Shore Control Center to deal with its want for dependable, high-quality, low-latency connectivity, which current industrial networks don’t present.

Dynamic geofences utilizing high-definition cameras and sensors onboard vessels, mixed with AI and machine studying algorithms, had been deployed by IMEC to determine areas the place situational consciousness is most important. As vessels approached areas that require elevated situational consciousness, community capability was mechanically prioritized to ensure high-quality reside video feeds. This allowed Seafar’s captains to manoeuvre vessels by way of these areas safely, with out having to decelerate or wait unproductively throughout loading and unloading, bettering effectivity and decreasing gasoline consumption. It additionally enabled them to work throughout a number of vessels on the identical time.

The partnership represents a real-life implementation of the Open Gateway initiative, launched final yr by the GSMA, which calls on the trade to standardise APIs for builders to hurry up innovation.

The use of NAAS expertise helps create an ecosystem which integrates standardised CAMARA APIs on imec’s functions. This permits an efficient and dependable use of community sources, which can be found on demand, whereas additionally avoiding the necessity to deploy a devoted and costly cellular communication infrastructure. By leveraging a 5G standalone community constructed within the cloud, prospects solely pay for what they want, whereas additionally benefiting from a granular stage of management providing most flexibility.

Shkumbin Hamiti, Head of Network Monetization Platform, Cloud and Network Services at Nokia, stated: “I am very pleased that Nokia is expanding the possibilities of bringing simplified network capabilities to developers at the Port of Antwerp that can be translated into new applications for their customers. We look forward to expanding our collaboration with Liberty Global and delivering on our strategic commitment to leverage the broader B2B digitalization ecosystem at the port.”

Madalina Suceveanu, Managing Director Mobile & Cloud Technologies, at Liberty Global, stated: “This multi-faceted trial simultaneously leverages the power of 5G standalone, cloud, edge computing and AI-driven computer vision applications. 5G-era networks are rich in capabilities that can now drive improvements to customer experiences for both enterprises and consumers in ways that were simply not possible just a few years ago. The framework we have developed in partnership with Nokia will give us the opportunity to access a large untapped market here, plus realize the development of even more use cases in many other sectors beyond shipping.”