Thames Freeport - Britain's Trading Future

[ 76 ] B T Change is continuous, but the UK retains its position within the top ten of developed nations. As an island nation, ports have always been the essential nodes in Britain’s trading networks — so much so, that 95 per cent of goods entering the UK still arrive through ports. Ensuring frictionless trade, where goods flow in and out of the country efficiently and effectively is essential to the current status and long-term standing of UK plc. BT is therefore proud to be Thames Freeport’s technology partner, committed to bringing its long history and expertise of digital innovation to the Thames Freeport ecosystem in order to bolster economic growth and rejuvenation as part of the post-pandemic recovery. The establishment of strategically located freeports is adding new rigour to the UK’s trading infrastructure, placing the country in prime position to continue its role as a critical trading hub and strengthening its reputation for building wealth, wellbeing, and success for its citizens. At the regional and local levels, investment, regeneration and jobs are the material promise of every freeport. The 21st century is hyper- competitive and hyper-connected. And so are the most successful ports around the world. In these bustling ecosystems, devices connect to devices, instruments to instruments, and assets to assets, transmitting essential data to operators, partners, and customers in real or near-real time. Advances in both technology and manufacturing capabilities mean that manual processes and accompanying paperwork are slowly but steadily being replaced by automation. Previously inaccessible data sets are now regularly incorporated into workflows and decision-making, thanks to developments in sensors, wireless communications, data analytics and artificial intelligence. Securing real-time data from Internet of Things (IoT) sensors, leveraging low latency, high- bandwidth public and private 5G networks, coupled with data exchange, artificial intelligence and a unified command and control platform can improve safety, security and operational efficiency. At the same time, advances in machine learning and artificial intelligence are helping to realise new possibilities for optimising equipment usage, informing decision-making, scheduling work, enhancing physical security, improving health and safety management, automating vital processes, tracking the movement of goods through the value chain, and so much more. The long-held vision of the Smart Port is becoming a reality. These advances are happening at the Port of Ipswich, for example, where BT is working with Associated British Ports to trial IoT and sensor technology. The goal is optimise the port’s operations, bring down costs, speed up processes, and reduce the downtime of vital equipment — all as part of the journey towards becoming a Smart Port. BT’s IoT solution detects, captures, analyses and visualises data from a wide range of assets, activities and movements, and then delivers it clearly The UK has been a trading nation for centuries. Trade is the foundation upon which British success has been built. Inventors and entrepreneurs, bold and daring merchants, innovative commercial instruments and excellent logistics have all contributed to making the UK a leading trading nation. BT manages the 5G private network for Worcester Bosch factory The establishment of strategically located freeports is adding new rigour to UK’s trading infrastructure. They will put the country in prime position to continue its role as a critical trading hub and strengthen its reputation as a country that builds wealth, wellbeing, and success for its citizens