Verizon Business wins multisite private 5G contract fueling a multibillion dollar regeneration project
Verizon Business (NYSE:VZ) has secured a significant contract to deploy multiple Private 5G Networks across Thames Freeport, one of the UK's major maritime logistics hubs. In partnership with Nokia, Verizon will implement advanced networks at key locations including DP World London Gateway, Port of Tilbury, and Ford Dagenham.
The project will support Thames Freeport's multibillion-dollar regeneration initiative, enabling AI-driven analytics, autonomous vehicle control, and real-time logistics orchestration. The Freeport has already created 1,400 jobs and aims to reach 5,000 jobs by 2030. The implementation includes Nokia's Digital Automation Cloud platform and MX Industrial Edge, supporting advanced capabilities across multiple industrial sites.
Verizon Business (NYSE:VZ) ha ottenuto un importante contratto per implementare diverse reti Private 5G presso Thames Freeport, uno dei principali hub logistici marittimi del Regno Unito. In collaborazione con Nokia, Verizon installerà reti avanzate in luoghi chiave come DP World London Gateway, Port of Tilbury e Ford Dagenham.
Il progetto sosterrà l'iniziativa di rigenerazione da miliardi di dollari di Thames Freeport, permettendo analisi guidate dall'IA, il controllo di veicoli autonomi e l'orchestrazione logistica in tempo reale. Il Freeport ha già creato 1.400 posti di lavoro e punta a raggiungerne 5.000 entro il 2030. L'implementazione include la piattaforma Digital Automation Cloud di Nokia e MX Industrial Edge, a supporto di funzionalità avanzate in diversi siti industriali.
Verizon Business (NYSE:VZ) ha asegurado un contrato importante para desplegar múltiples Redes Privadas 5G en Thames Freeport, uno de los principales centros logísticos marítimos del Reino Unido. En asociación con Nokia, Verizon implementará redes avanzadas en ubicaciones clave como DP World London Gateway, Puerto de Tilbury y Ford Dagenham.
El proyecto apoyará la iniciativa de regeneración multimillonaria de Thames Freeport, habilitando análisis impulsados por IA, control de vehículos autónomos y orquestación logística en tiempo real. El Freeport ya ha creado 1,400 empleos y aspira a alcanzar 5,000 empleos para 2030. La implementación incluye la plataforma Digital Automation Cloud de Nokia y MX Industrial Edge, que respaldan capacidades avanzadas en múltiples sitios industriales.
Verizon Business (NYSE:VZ)는 영국의 주요 해상 물류 허브 중 하나인 Thames Freeport 전역에 여러 개의 프라이빗 5G 네트워크를 구축하는 중요한 계약을 체결했습니다. Nokia와 협력하여 Verizon은 DP World London Gateway, Port of Tilbury, Ford Dagenham 등 주요 위치에 첨단 네트워크를 구현할 예정입니다.
이 프로젝트는 Thames Freeport의 수십억 달러 규모 재생 사업을 지원하며, 인공지능 기반 분석, 자율주행 차량 제어 및 실시간 물류 조정을 가능하게 합니다. Freeport는 이미 1,400개의 일자리를 창출했으며, 2030년까지 5,000개의 일자리를 목표로 하고 있습니다. 구현에는 Nokia의 Digital Automation Cloud 플랫폼과 MX Industrial Edge가 포함되어 여러 산업 현장에서 고급 기능을 지원합니다.
Verizon Business (NYSE:VZ) a obtenu un contrat important pour déployer plusieurs réseaux privés 5G à travers Thames Freeport, l'un des principaux hubs logistiques maritimes du Royaume-Uni. En partenariat avec Nokia, Verizon mettra en place des réseaux avancés sur des sites clés tels que DP World London Gateway, Port of Tilbury et Ford Dagenham.
Le projet soutiendra l'initiative de régénération de plusieurs milliards de dollars de Thames Freeport, permettant des analyses pilotées par l'IA, le contrôle de véhicules autonomes et l'orchestration logistique en temps réel. Le Freeport a déjà créé 1 400 emplois et vise 5 000 emplois d'ici 2030. La mise en œuvre inclut la plateforme Digital Automation Cloud de Nokia et MX Industrial Edge, qui supportent des capacités avancées sur plusieurs sites industriels.
Verizon Business (NYSE:VZ) hat einen bedeutenden Auftrag erhalten, um mehrere private 5G-Netzwerke im Thames Freeport, einem der wichtigsten maritimen Logistikzentren Großbritanniens, einzurichten. In Partnerschaft mit Nokia wird Verizon fortschrittliche Netzwerke an wichtigen Standorten wie DP World London Gateway, Port of Tilbury und Ford Dagenham implementieren.
Das Projekt unterstützt die milliardenschwere Regenerationsinitiative von Thames Freeport und ermöglicht KI-gestützte Analysen, autonome Fahrzeugsteuerung und Echtzeit-Logistikkoordination. Der Freeport hat bereits 1.400 Arbeitsplätze geschaffen und strebt bis 2030 insgesamt 5.000 Arbeitsplätze an. Die Umsetzung umfasst Nokias Digital Automation Cloud Plattform und MX Industrial Edge, die fortschrittliche Funktionen an mehreren Industrieanlagen unterstützen.
- Strategic partnership with Nokia positions Verizon as a key player in large-scale private 5G deployment
- Contract supports multibillion-dollar transformation project in one of UK's busiest maritime hubs
- Project enables new revenue streams through advanced technological capabilities
- Implementation at major industrial sites including DP World London Gateway and Ford Dagenham demonstrates scalability
- Significant investment required for infrastructure deployment and maintenance
- Complex multi-stakeholder project execution could face coordination challenges
- Success depends on effective adoption by multiple industrial partners
Insights
Verizon secures significant UK private 5G contract, strengthening its enterprise technology position in high-growth industrial connectivity market.
This partnership represents a strategically significant win for Verizon Business in the enterprise private 5G market. The multi-site deployment across Thames Freeport—one of the UK's busiest maritime logistics hubs—positions Verizon as a key enabler in a multibillion-dollar regeneration project with long-term revenue potential.
The contract's value comes not just from network deployment but from enabling high-value use cases including AI-driven analytics, autonomous vehicles, and real-time logistics orchestration. This aligns perfectly with Verizon's enterprise strategy to move beyond connectivity into higher-margin technology solutions that address complex industrial challenges.
What makes this deal particularly notable is its scale and ecosystem approach. By partnering with Nokia for hardware/software components and spanning multiple industrial sites (DP World London Gateway, Port of Tilbury, and Ford Dagenham), Verizon demonstrates its ability to coordinate complex, multi-stakeholder deployments—a crucial capability as private 5G adoption accelerates globally.
The timing is opportune as industrial digitalization accelerates post-pandemic. Thames Freeport's projection to create 5,000 jobs by 2030 suggests a long-term deployment horizon with recurring revenue opportunities as the network scales. For Verizon, this represents exactly the kind of enterprise use case that justifies its investments in 5G technology and expertise—creating high-margin revenue streams beyond the saturated consumer market.
This contract reinforces Verizon's position as a leading provider of industrial private 5G solutions while expanding its international footprint in the strategic UK market, providing a reference architecture for similar deployments globally.
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
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Media contact:
Matt Conte
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Sebrina Kepple
sebrina.kepple@verizon.com
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