The private LTE network will leverage Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) – one of the first smart port solutions in the US to do so. CBRS is a 150MHz wide broadcast band in the 3.5GHz band traditionally used by satellite ground stations and the US Navy.
It was auctioned by the US regulator the FCC in June of last year and, because its structure is the first of its kind to incorporate licensed and unlicensed-like opportunities, it has caught the attention of a wide variety of users.
“Once we became more familiar with all the capabilities of LTE and CBRS, it became increasingly clear that Geoverse was the right partner to lead and manage the delivery of this technology for our private network,” said Bill Aboudi, president of OMSS.
OMSS is looking to enhance health and safety, as well as sustainability and asset management by deploying the network at the Port of Oakland in California.
The first phase will allow multiple intermodal container yard management applications with new smart port use cases and applications in follow-on phases.
OMSS will deploy the Geoverse GeoCore Evolved Packet Core (EPC) as the critical control element to manage the CBRS network infrastructure and the connected end points across the port. A number of mobile devices and end points will be populated with a Geoverse SIM card, enabling them to securely connect to the private network and utilise capabilities such as outbound roaming should they need to transit off-site.
Aboudi added: “We seek to gain new efficiencies by using wireless, IoT and the available analytics to enable multiple smart port applications by leveraging this reliable high-speed mobile data and communications platform.
“By partnering with Geoverse, the OMSS will be able to enhance its existing infrastructure to support the emerging demands through the use of intelligent intermodal applications such as container yard workflow analytics, environmental monitoring, smart gate management, and drone surveillance.”
Geoverse CEO Rod Nelson, added: “This deployment is proving to be a first for the support of new use cases with CBRS, demonstrating how these networks are really a good fit for these maritime environments.
“We’re pleased to partner with Oakland Maritime Support Services at the Port of Oakland on such a critical effort to improve the way containerized goods are moved as part of the U.S. supply chain. We expect that this is a model other ports and intermodal facilities will be watching.”
