Port Nelson deploys private 5G network

A key gateway to the South Island, Port Nelson underpins New Zealand’s economy, handling a diverse range of exports and imports, including forestry products, pip fruit, wine and seafood. Within its warehouses, where palletised bottled wine and empty wine bottles move in and out of the port, forklift operators are required to scan every pallet moved as part of critical inventory and logistics processes. However, the high‑density block‑stacking storage used in these warehouses — and the complex design of the broader port site — had created persistent Wi‑Fi dead spots and forced staff to change operating processes simply to maintain connectivity.

“Connectivity was becoming a real operational constraint for us,” said Reagan Pattison, General Manager Business Transformation at Port Nelson. “No matter how much we tried to saturate our warehouses with Wi‑Fi, we couldn’t get consistent performance. That impacted productivity, created frustration for our operators, and limited our ability to modernise how we work.”

Covering around 30,000 m² across three warehouses in Nelson and Blenheim, Spark’s 5G+ Private Network solution uses Ericsson Private 5G to provide a high-availability core at Port Nelson that connects to small cell radios to provide reliable coverage inside the warehouses and across outdoor yard areas. The Port has also deployed Ericsson Cradlepoint ruggedised R1900 routers for forklift connectivity and tracking. The dual-SIM capability of the routers enables switching between Spark’s public and private 5G networks for when forklifts move outside the initial private 5G coverage areas.

Unlike traditional Wi‑Fi, private 5G delivers dedicated, secure, enterprise‑grade connectivity with predictable performance and pervasive coverage across complex sites like the port, enabling staff to scan pallets in real time without interruption as they move throughout the sites.

In addition to immediate productivity and staff satisfaction gains, Ericsson’s NetCloud platform gives Port Nelson improved visibility into connectivity performance, helping teams proactively identify and resolve issues.

A digital push‑to‑talk communications platform, enabled by Ericsson Private 5G, will play a key role in strengthening health and safety outcomes by improving real‑time communications and enabling location‑based alerts to help physically separate people from heavy mobile plant. Future applications include geofence intelligence and broadcast messaging.

“Safety is fundamental in a port environment. Private 5G gives us the ability to prioritise critical communications, improve visibility of what’s happening across the site, and move towards more proactive, engineered safety controls,” Pattison said.

“In a warehousing environment where there are moving vehicles and large volumes of stock moving in and out of the space, reliable connectivity that digital workflows can depend on really matters,” said Ian Ross, Head of Private Networks ANZ, Ericsson Enterprise Wireless Solutions. “Private 5G is the digital backbone of modern industry, increasingly demonstrating the highest standard when it comes to connectivity for critical applications in factories, warehouses, airports, mines and ports.

“By using Private 5G, Port Nelson now has a dedicated network using the latest cellular wireless capabilities, that can support real‑time operations today while providing a strong foundation for future digital innovation.”

“Port Nelson is a great example of how private 5G is unlocking new value for New Zealand businesses operating in complex, production‑critical environments,” said Greg Clark, Chief Customer Officer at Spark. “At Port Nelson, it’s enabling safer warehouse operations today while opening the door to automation, advanced IoT, and smarter ways of working across the entire port in the future.”

Looking ahead, the port’s warehouse private 5G network has the potential to further transform its operations by enabling advanced applications such as real‑time asset tracking, predictive maintenance, enhanced CCTV cameras, AI‑enabled vision and automation — delivering ongoing improvements in both productivity, and health and safety outcomes.

By strengthening the reliability and efficiency of a critical export gateway, the private 5G network delivered by Spark and Ericsson has the potential to unlock productivity gains for Port Nelson, the wider South Island, and the region’s economy.

Image: Port Nelson. Credit: Spark New Zealand