PRESS RELEASE: ZTE Corporation announced its collaboration with China Telecom Shanghai Branch to deploy an innovative 5G-A smart vessel traffic service system.
This project represents another significant effort by ZTE to transform the traditional vessel traffic service through technological 5G-A innovations, having won “First Prize” at the 7th “Blooming Cup” 5G Application Competition—Shanghai Regional Contest. This accolade symbolizes the joint commitment to creating value and driving digital innovation within waterway management.
Water transport, which handles around 80% of global cargo, faces increasing demand, posing considerable management challenges for authorities. Rising accidents highlight the need for safer waterways, while frequent losses of waterway markers result in substantial economic impacts. These issues underscore the urgent need for improved waterway safety and efficiency.
Regarding the special application scenario, China Eastern Navigation Service Center, China MSA Shanghai Branch, and China Telecom Shanghai Branch collaborate with ZTE to innovatively build the 5G-A smart vessel traffic service system. By leveraging existing 5G-A networks to achieve seamless waterway coverage, this system enables low-cost and rapid deployment. This project complements existing waterway monitoring systems by establishing a comprehensive end-to-end solution for waterway management, enhancing monitoring capabilities, reducing accidents, and improving operational efficiency.
Current technologies for monitoring waterways also have significant limitations. The AIS (Automatic Identification System) suffers from slow data updates and can be easily turned off by ship crews. Meanwhile, cameras struggle in low visibility conditions, such as during fog or at night. To address these issues, 5G-A networks have been deployed to achieve faster reporting, top-level accuracy and better performance. This technology has been successfully commercialized on Shanghai Huangpu River.
To limit the cost of deploying new infrastructure, 5G-A has its natural advantages. Compared to radar, which is prohibitively expensive and lacks networking capabilities, 5G-A ISAC (5G-Advanced Integrated Sensing and Communication) significantly reduces deployment costs while maintaining the same coverage. It enables approximately 90% in investment savings and 80% reduction in deployment time.
By integrating 5G-A ISAC with traditional vessel traffic service systems, this end-to-end integration allows for 24/7 waterway management, providing all-weather tracking with no blind spots, even in fog and snow. Additionally, 5G-A can update data within 1 second, mitigating risks associated with the slower updates of AIS. Furthermore, the active detection and reporting capabilities of ISAC help reduce accidents caused by ships that lack AIS systems or have intentionally turned them off.
The system is user-friendly, offering a visual overview of waterway conditions, which significantly reduces operational and maintenance costs, thereby saving substantial financial resources. It supports ship tracking, automated terminal operations, and more. By integrating the AIS system, cameras, and 5G-A ISAC, this comprehensive vessel traffic service system addresses existing gaps. For instance, cameras are used in clear conditions, while 5G-A base stations remain in energy-saving sleep mode. When visibility is poor, 5G-A ISAC activates to provide high-precision sensing.
This project leverages existing network site infrastructure, making it adaptable to various network scales and service needs. It enables monitoring of not only inland waterways but also of ports, offshore areas, and the open sea. After its successful implementation on the Huangpu River, the system will expand to cover more waterway routes in Shanghai and potentially extend across 128,200 kilometers of the Yangtze River and beyond in China, with plans for further expansion to global locations.
Moving forward, ZTE will remain committed to advancing the integration of 5G-A technology into the industry, collaborating with China Eastern Navigation Service Center, China MSA Shanghai Branch, and China Telecom Shanghai Branch to further improve the waterway environment for ship staff, delivering a more reliable method for modernizing waterway operations and enhancing safety. These innovations fully realize the benefits of connected and intelligent waterway management, promising a future with ‘0’ waterway accidents and ‘0’ economic losses due to infrastructure issues.