NEW YORK – Verizon Business and Virginia International Terminals, LLC (VIT) today announced an agreement to build a private 5G Ultra Wideband network at one of The Port Of Virginia's main container terminals.

Virginia International Terminals (VIT) is a privately held terminal operating company that is owned by the Virginia Port Authority, which is an agency of the state of Virginia. VIT is one of the most technologically advanced container terminal operators in the world, and will use the network to explore the use of autonomous over-the-road trucks for accessing the terminal to drop-off and pick-up shipping containers. The On Site 5G private network deployment is scalable and also gives VIT the ability to replace WiFi with secure, private 5G connectivity across its Virginia International Gateway facility, a 275 acre marine terminal.

The deal is Verizon Business' second with a major international port and its first with a U.S.-based terminal.

In the recently closed fiscal year, VIT handled 3.7M TEUs (2 million containers) and accounted for approximately $47 billion in gross product for the state. VIT recently received a U.S. Department of Transportation grant to create a proof of concept for autonomous over-the-road trucks, bringing together experts from industry and academia to devise a solution for this critical logistics chain need. Private 5G is a critical component to the solution being developed.

On Site 5G is a secure non-standalone private network that combines 5G Ultra Wideband small cells with an LTE packet core and supporting radios, providing compatibility with a wide range of both LTE and 5G devices. As 5G technology and capabilities advance and evolve, On Site 5G provides customers with a scalable, customizable platform to take advantage of developments in burgeoning technologies such as IoT, AI/ML, AR/VR, real-time edge compute, and much more.

Read the full press release here.

Verizon