Private 5G: Inside Three's Rollout for Key UK Smart Ports

Three Group Solutions has announced the completion of the deployment of a private 5G network across Hutchison Ports’ UK operations. The project involves delivering advanced industrial connectivity at the Port of Felixstowe, Harwich International Port and London Thamesport.

The rollout provides ultra-reliable, high-capacity and low-latency connectivity to support large-scale automation and data-driven operations. For the telecoms sector, the project demonstrates how private 5G is being used to modernise complex, mission critical infrastructure at scale.

Port of Felixstowe is the UK’s largest container port, while Harwich International and London Thamesport operate as part of the same hub under Hutchison Ports. 

By deploying a single private 5G network across all three sites, Three Group Solutions has created a unified connectivity platform designed to improve performance, resilience and operational efficiency across geographically-distributed assets.

The network is intended to support applications that demand consistent and predictable connectivity, including autonomous trucks, remote-controlled cranes and data-rich systems that underpin Hutchison Ports’ wider digital transformation plans.

Seamless transition from 4G to 5G

Upgrading mission critical communications in live port environments required a carefully-managed approach.

Three Group Solutions designed and built the new 5G network in parallel with the existing 4G system, using separate blocks of radio spectrum so both networks could operate side by side without interference.

This enabled vehicles and machinery to be migrated in controlled phases, with performance monitored and optimised at each stage. The approach ensured continuity of operations across all three ports during the transition.

Graham Wilde, Head of Private Networks at Three Group Solutions, says: “When you are dealing with the connectivity that keeps the country’s largest container port moving, you cannot simply turn one network off and another on. 

“By running the 4G and 5G systems in parallel and moving assets in stages, we were able to deliver a smooth transition with no disruption to daily operations.”

For telecoms providers, the project highlights the importance of coexistence strategies when upgrading critical environments where downtime is not an option.

Enabling automation and safer working

A key driver for the upgrade is Hutchison Ports’ plan to introduce autonomous electric trucks at the Port of Felixstowe, replacing a significant proportion of the existing diesel fleet. 

These vehicles require continuous connectivity, very low latency to enable safe remote intervention and sufficient bandwidth to support multiple live video feeds when operators need greater situational awareness.

The previous 4G system was highly reliable for delivering work instructions to tablets in vehicle cabs, but was not designed to support these demands at scale. The new private 5G network delivers the performance and predictability required to underpin next generation autonomous operations.

“Automation in ports is not about putting people out of work," adds Graham. "It is about changing the jobs people do. Roles become safer, more varied and more attractive, which makes it easier to recruit and retain the talent ports need for the future.”

The deployment shows how private 5G can support both operational efficiency and workforce evolution within industrial sectors.

A platform for smart port innovation

Working with specialist technology partners, Three Group Solutions has delivered a resilient and scalable 5G architecture featuring dual cores, overlapping radio coverage and diverse links between the three port locations.

The network sits entirely within Hutchison Ports’ existing cybersecurity perimeter. It has been engineered to maintain operations even if individual sites or radio towers are taken offline for maintenance or in the event of a fault, ensuring continuity across critical port operations.

While autonomous horizontal transport is the first major application, the platform has been designed to support a wide range of future use cases. These include extending remote control to additional machinery such as cranes, deploying sensors for predictive maintenance, using drones for inspection and environmental monitoring and integrating real time data into digital twins of port operations.

Graham continues: “The capability of the new network means that possibilities for the future are only really limited by the imagination of what could be done.

“Felixstowe, Harwich and Thamesport now have a dedicated 5G foundation for the next decade of innovation.

“This project shows how private 5G, delivered and managed by Three Group Solutions, can combine resilience, performance and flexibility at industrial scale and we look forward to helping Hutchison Ports build on this success in the UK and beyond.”