Nokia and America Movil’s Claro Colombia deployed what the pair claimed is the first industrial private 4.9G network in Latin America, designed to monitor operations and support connectivity across the country’s largest oil and maritime port.

Nokia stated it is providing its digital automation cloud (DAC) and industrial edge technology to support Claro’s private 4.9G and data processing needs at the Puerto Bahia terminal, Cartagena, integrating the operations of workers, sensors and vehicles on-site.

The private network will mainly benefit logistics across the port, supporting a wider digitalisation effort, while use cases include the tracking “of up to 20,000 vehicles” and connectivity for machine-to-machine operations.

CEO at Claro Colombia, Carlos Zenteno, said the collaboration provides further investment in digital infrastructure as it looks to strengthen “advancements in technology and enhancing safety and port efficiency”.

The Puerto Bahia facility is Colombia’s biggest cargo terminal, handling 95 per cent of the Caribbean coast market and more than 50 per cent of the Colombian market.

Recently, Nokia has struck other industrial private wireless deals, including a tie-up with AT&T to digitalise operations in a maritime port in Mexico, and most recently with Swedish operator Tele2.