Container Terminal Altenwerder (CTA) in Hamburg now has a “5G campus network” after the completion of the PROCON 5G project.
In March 2023 Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG received €2.3 million in funding from the German Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport (BMCV) under its “DigiTest” initiative. The funding supported the PROCON-5G (Port Remote Operations and Container Network with 5G) pilot project at CTA, which set up a private 5G mobile network on the terminal site as a digital testing ground.
HHLA has announced that the PROCON-5G infrastructure, which was implemented together with Deutsche Telekom and Ericsson, has now gone into operation. “Since the end of May 2026, the network has been supplying an area of over one square kilometre and forms the basis for central logistics processes, real-time applications and a digital test field for innovations in the port,” HHLA.
The 5G campus network is specially designed for CTA’s automated operating environment. “It networks vehicles, sensors, mobile devices and IT systems in real time. The architecture, based on Ericsson Private 5G, enables stable and high-performance communication, even at high-capacity utilisation and can be flexibly expanded – both at the site and for future applications or other areas. The network will be operated as a dedicated 5G campus network in the locally allocated frequency spectrum, independent of public mobile communications, HHLA added.
Michael Albers, HHLA Project Manager said: “With the 5G campus network, we now have a high-performance and stable radio infrastructure on which we can test new applications realistically and put them directly into operation. At the same time, we can test and further develop solutions with our partners under real conditions in our terminal. For us, this is an important step towards driving forward the networking and automation of the CTA in a targeted manner.”
Klaus Werner, Managing Director Business Customers Telekom Deutschland added: “With the 5G campus network at Container Terminal Altenwerder, we are taking an important step forward in the digitalisation of port logistics together with HHLA. The solution shows how modern mobile communications technology makes complex processes more efficient, transparent and flexible.”
Duncan Hawkins, Vice President, Europe, Middle East & Africa Enterprise Sales, Ericsson, noted that the network “provides secure, high-performance connectivity for autonomous transport, real-time video and sensor-driven processes while serving as a PROCON-5G test field for new applications. It creates a scalable blueprint for the next generation of smart port operations in Germany and beyond.”
