ICTSI deploys 5G technology at MICT

MANILA, Philippines — Ports giant International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) is set to operate the country’s first 5G-enabled “intelligent” port at its flagship Manila International Container Terminal (MICT) under a partnership with telco giant PLDT Inc. and its wireless subsidiary Smart Communications Inc.

The MICT will be the first in the ICTSI Group and the first in the Philippine port industry to use 5G technology.

“It’s very important to us that we constantly drive efficiency and optimization in the cargo flows. And to do that, we also need to push that optimization beyond the boundaries of the fence of the container terminal,” ICTSI vice president and chief information officer Brian Mark Hibbert said.

“To really drive this journey forward, we wanted to deploy a unified backbone of communication across the port. Hence our partnership with PLDT around 5G technology,” Hibbert said.

PLDT and Smart president and CEO Alfredo Panlilio earlier said the telco giant had closed a big deal with ICTSI in terms of 5G case study on ports and how they could use 5G technology in the ports.

Hibbert said ICTSI sees many opportunities with 5G to provide rich communication not just to the multitude of technologies the company is deploying inside the port, but also to reach out to its customers and partners across the supply chain.

ICTSI is one of the world’s largest container terminal operators with 34 container ports across 20 countries.

The company in recent years has deployed various Internet of Things solutions in some of the technologies it utilizes in its operations and management.

PLDT said the ICTSI partnership is under the broad program of the company to develop world-class 5G technology use cases for industry and enterprise.

PLDT and Smart have been at the forefront of 5G technology in the country since 2016.

Smart is currently the country’s fastest and widest 5G network with more than 4,000 sites across the country.