The Croatian operator is the second Deutsche Telekom business to recently signal a tower spin-off, after Greece’s OTE
Hrvatski Telekom (HT) has equipped a new container terminal in Rijeka with a 5G network, provided as a complete managed service on a turnkey basis. Adriatic ports, like Rijeka situated on the Kvarner Gulf, have become more prominent given they provide the shortest maritime link between Europe and the Middle and Far Est.
HT has selected Rijeka Gateway, a port operating company founded by A.P. Moller – Maersk and ENNA Group, to develop and operate the terminal in Rijeka, which will start operating in 2025. APMT, as part of the Maersk Group, which oversees wireless connectivity in more than 70 ports around the world, will test this new managed service operating model in Rijeka and further migrate from the current architecture to “advanced 5G SA architecture”, allowing it to utilise dedicated network slicing for industrial applications.
In May the operator announced it was looking at plonking its tower infrastructure into a separate, owned subsidiary, along the lines of other Deutsche Telekom businesses in Europe. Last month it announced it had started looking into the possibility of merging with its network infrastructure subsidiary HT Servisi (HTS).
Hrvatski Telekom transferred its network infrastructure unit to ICT solutions provider Ericsson Nikola Tesla in September 2014. In June 2023, Hrvatski Telekom took it back in the fold and in November 2023, the subsidiary was renamed HTS from Ericsson Nikola Tesla Servisi (ENTS). The moves, if carried out, will help the operator better provide managed services like the pending Rijeka port deal.
Remotely controlled cranes
“This project demonstrates Rijeka Gateway’s confidence in our ability to provide a high-availability service for seamless 24/7 port operations. It confirms our strategy in providing business-critical communication through our public mobile network,” said Hrvatski Telekom COO for business customers and board member Marijana Bačić (above).
“We are developing one of the most technologically modern terminals in Rijeka, and from the beginning of the design of the terminal, we have defined the goal of maximizing the impact of the terminal on the environment and the local community,” said Rijeka Gateway board president Peter Corfitsen. “The terminal in Rijeka will be the only terminal in this part of Europe with remotely controlled cranes, almost all equipment will be electric, and we are also installing very advanced systems for energy optimisation and overall terminal management.”
He added: “A high-quality and reliable communication infrastructure is a prerequisite for such a way of working and we look forward to cooperation with Hrvatski Telekom.”
The Gateway River is one of the most extensive infrastructure projects since the establishment of the Republic of Croatia, which initiated a comprehensive revitalization of a part of Rijeka’s coastal area. According to the companies, the Gateway River will be the most modern, remotely controlled container terminal in this part of Europe.
With a concession for the next 50 years, it will serve as the main entry point for container traffic into the countries and markets of the European hinterland and will play a key role in the development of the local economy, given that most of the project contracts will be carried out by domestic companies. The value of the total investment is €380 million and the project itself has been declared a project of strategic importance for Croatia.