Report on intelligence gathered and presentation held by PRIMMA on private 5G
1. SDP Scope:
November 2025 saw the annual Smart Digital Ports conference in Amsterdam. PRIMMA took part and presented in a session on private 5G for port automation, together with Nokia and port of Valencia . This repetitive event focusses on ports and automation of operations. It is broader in scope that the PortComms – wireless communications in ports – conference in London which is aimed at solely wireless in ports and where PRIMMA also presented. SDP’5 had some 100 attendees from across the world. PRIMMA presented in a session of private 5G. PRIMMA – PRivate networks Initiative for Mainport Market Acceleration – aims at stimulating the use of private mobile networks in ports and logistics.
2. Summary of the event:
2.1. Port automation and 5Gn
Port digitisation and automation is all about enabling smoother processes, saving costs, environmental improvement and coping with labour shortage and aging of workforce. In doing so, ports connect back-office systems of port authorities, cargo handlers, shipping lines, container terminals etc to smoothen the chain and enable smoother and more efficient hand-overs between processes. Historically, there have been a lot of manual interfaces between players and processes. Also, ports are looking at automation and remote control of cranes and AGV’s, are implementing preventive maintenance and telemetry, are introducing devices to enable their workforces to work smarter and introduce environmental sensing and monitoring.
For all such processes and innovations, connectivity is required. This can well be existing fibre optics or wifi, but as more equipment is mobile and as requirements on the performance of the connectivity rises; private mobile networks come to play. With private 4 or 5G networks, a port or port operator can connect devices wirelessly with guaranteed and higher-than-average KPI’s. More and more ports and airports are seeing the necessity of this and are implementing private 4/5G networks. In NW Europe alone dozens of these networks have been realised and spotted by us.
At SDP the focus was not on these networks, but more on the automation that they enable. The focus at SDP is very much on ERP, operational processes and PCS’s: Port Community Systems. For all of these, p5G is an enabler; an essential one but still ‘just’ an enabler. Then again, an enabler that’ll help ports optimise further and survive in an ever changing landscape.
2.2. Session on Private 5G
On day 2 there was a dedicated session of private 5G for port automation. In it, PRIMMA gave a presentation together with – – Nokia Port of Valencia Nokia elaborated on the Alliance for Private Networks (that it is a prime member of), a ‘sister’ association of PRIMMA aimed at p5G at large, across all verticals. Also, Nokia commented on 6G as the next level enablement. Port of Valencia elaborated on its experience with its existing private network across the entire port; one of the first top 10 ports to implement this. Valencia even secured EU funding for its innovation and may serve as an example for many similar ports. PRIMMA’s Koen Mioulet held an introduction in which he briefly explained the goal of the association, the status of p5G in the verticals and some deliverables that the PRIMMA work programme targets.
Clearly the ‘enabler’ private 5G has a lot of potential for ports and the investment in it can support itself; yet the option is still largely unknown and needs articulating.