Hrvatski Telekom has announced a groundbreaking initiative to implement a ‘private’ slice of its public 5G network at the new Port of Rijeka, which will become Croatia’s largest shipping hub by 2025. This effort stems from a collaboration between APM Terminals and ENNA Group, who together form the joint-venture Rijeka Gateway. The project, expected to employ new radio infrastructure managed on a slice of the public core 5G network, aims to blend environmental responsibility with advanced technology.
The exact network equipment vendor remains unidentified, although Hrvatski Telekom frequently partners with Ericsson for its public network. This marks the first time the Croatian subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom is employing standalone (SA) 5G. According to Rijeka Gateway, the motivation for this deployment aligns with their goals for environmental stewardship and cutting-edge technological advancements.
The joint venture was formalized in 2021 to construct and operate a high-tech container terminal on Croatia’s Adriatic coast. APM Terminals and ENNA Group are steering the development, estimated to attract investments of over €480 million by 2026. The port will feature a 680-meter long berth and handle over a million twenty-foot containers annually. The terminal’s operations will rely entirely on remote-controlled electrical equipment, aligning with APM Terminals’ decarbonization and automation strategy known as ‘Terminal of the Future’.
As a greenfield project with no existing private LTE network, the site will leap directly to standalone (SA) 5G technology. This signifies Hrvatski Telekom’s first installation of SA architecture. Peter Corfitsen, CEO of Rijeka Gateway, stated, “We are developing one of the most technologically advanced terminals, with an emphasis on minimizing environmental and local community impact.”
APM Terminals is no stranger to private 4G and 5G deployments; they have infrastructures in locations such as Aarhus, Valencia, Aqaba, Lagos, and the Yucatán peninsula. Overseeing wireless connectivity at more than 70 ports globally, APM Terminals has widespread expertise. Both APM Terminals and Hrvatski Telekom describe their network as ‘private’, but acknowledge that public mobile network infrastructure will support most of the remote container-handling equipment.
“Hrvatski Telekom will provide a comprehensive managed service on a turnkey basis,” stated Marijana Bačić, COO for business customers at Hrvatski Telekom. Rijeka Gateway reiterated this, emphasizing the importance of reliable communication infrastructure for seamless port operations.
This initiative aims to meet the intensive data volume demands of APM Terminals’ digital transformation, addressing the current limitations of Wi-Fi networks. The terminal looks to become the primary entry point for container traffic into Europe’s hinterland countries and markets, significantly advancing the local economy.
