Thames Freeport - Britain's Trading Future

[ 79 ] trading and business landscape since 1846, when the Electric Telegraph Company was formed on the principle of ‘purposeful innovation’ — the pursuit of scientific breakthrough married to practical engineering that powers BT and transforms the world. BT provides and operates the UK’s most reliable network, and is the only UK network provider to offer connectivity from the Shetland Islands to the Isles of Scilly and everywhere in between. In the public sector, BT is helping local authorities to connect their communities and deliver the next generation of public services. BT is trusted by local government because the BT network is part of the UK’s Critical National Infrastructure, keeping both the NHS and police connected, running the UK’s 999 service, and serving the MoD to create smart bases — helping staff to connect quickly and act decisively through access to real- time information on military bases. BT is one of five HMRC accredited providers for handling UK import and export declarations and ensuring frictionless movement of cargo and goods through the CCS-UK cargo community eco-system. The BT network is built with the highest levels of resilience, with £3.7 billion invested every year to ensure that the core network continues to meet the UK’s most exacting requirements. It’s the only network to offer 99.999 per cent availability in the UK. BT is leader in the development and implementation of private and public 5G networks that will play such a critical role in freeport operations. The company was the first to launch 5G in the UK, which is now live in over 160 locations. Additionally, world-leading innovation capabilities — made accessible to partners such as the Worcestershire 5G Testbed — continue to develop at EE Mobile Labs. BT’s foundational principle has a dedicated home: the BT Labs research programme at Adastral Park, where a series of highly productive partnerships and collaborations have been built with academics and industry. BT Labs, and its related research programmes, thought-leadership initiatives, and collaboration networks, are leading the world in creating standards for the next generation of network connectivity. BT continues to embrace new challenges and partners, and to build and deliver capabilities including cloud, AI, machine learning, asset optimisation and tracking. All are enabled by BT’s fixed and mobile networks, the tools and technologies that play a critical role in optimising freeports and frictionless trade. This is technology that keeps the UK communicating, trading and talking— a necessity for all Thames Freeport partners. BT and Port of Ipswich deploy IoT solutions to speed up operations on site Connectivity is essential in driving a frictionless and thriving freeport and its wider ecosystem