Ericsson and China Unicom Announce 5G Smart Harbor at the Port of Qingdao

Ericsson and China Unicom, the world’s fourth-largest mobile service provider by subscriber base, are developing a 5G smart harbor at the Port of Qingdao in China, according to a recent announcement. The news follows a technical solution verification at the port of Qingdao and was jointly announced by the partners during a media event from Ericsson’s booth at Mobile World Congress 2019 in Barcelona, Spain. Reportedly, one of the key findings of the field trial is that up to 70 percent of labor costs can be saved when a harbor uses the 5G automation upgrade, compared to traditional harbors with a fully automated harbor. The labor cost savings were estimated based on the project of automation at the Qingdao Port automation. “China Unicom is proactively exploring industrial 5G business opportunities,” said Zhang Yong, General Manager, China Unicom Research Institute.