LIVE FROM MOBILE WORLD LIVE UNWRAPPED DIGITAL INDUSTRIES: Jennifer Artley, SVP of Verizon Business (pictured, bottom left) revealed a recent 5G private network deal for Thames Freeport in the UK has officially moved from the planning to building phase, with the goal of going live in March 2026.

Artley, speaking alongside Thames Freeport interim CEO Stuart Rimmer (pictured, bottom right), described the feat as a huge step in what is proving a pretty complex rollout, after it landed the deal alongside vendor Nokia in June.

Thames Freeport is one of the UK’s largest maritime logistics and manufacturing regions, and the technology upgrade is part of wider long-term efforts to revive the UK’s Thames Estuary region.

Artley said Verizon was deploying six private 5G cores across three major sites: the DP World Gateway; Ford Dagenham; and the Port of Tilbury, which are some of the biggest trade hubs in the UK connecting to more than 130 global routes.

What makes the deployment particularly complex is the fact that requirements are not the same at each site and each “tenant has their own unique needs and unique operations. So we are building this in real-time”.

It is aiming to complete the full deployment by the end of 2025, said Artley, before testing begins in the new year and  “the goal is to go live in March, which will be a big milestone”.

She added that while Verizon’s technology will serve as the foundation of the project, it is “part of a multi-billion dollar effort to transform the Thames Estuary into one of Europe’s most technologically advanced commercial hubs”.

AI city
Echoing Artley, Rimmer said the project is not only about driving economic benefits but social benefits too, and it is targeting high-profile partnerships to achieve its wider goals.

“We’ve got an ambition to create an AI city, said Rimmer. “Now those ambitions have to be met by some really ambitious partnerships and that’s how we developed the partnership with Verizon. It’s not just about putting the wires in, but actually its about sharing a vision for future prosperity.”

Watch the full interview here.