Finferries manages traffic census in Telia's programmable 5G network

Finferries is the first pilot customer of Telia's Sirius development project. The company utilises a programmable 5G network for traffic census.

Finferries operates ferry, ferry and ferry services on more than 50 routes in Finland. The connections maintained vary from smaller, sheltered strait crossings to demanding sea trips: the shortest ferry ride is between Kivimo in Houtskär and the longest route, 9.5 km, runs from Korpo to Houtskär.

Finferries' problem was that the current traffic calculation system is at the end of its life cycle and no longer meets today's requirements. In the future, traffic agreements will also require more detailed information on route users. So how can vehicles travelling on the ring road be counted and classified cost-effectively, easily and reliably, while at the same time managing remote monitoring of the ferry shore efficiently?

In spring 2024, Finferries started piloting Telia's programmable 5G network in video analytics of traffic in congested ports and data analysis with edge computing.  A camera system has been installed on the ferry beaches and ferries to identify different vehicle categories as accurately as possible and remotely monitor the ferry shore. Video analytics operates at the edge of the mobile network at Telia Helsinki Data Center, whose software partner is Rewake. The ferries are guaranteed an excellent connection via a virtual 5G private network using network slicing. The results of the piloting have been promising.

"A programmable 5G network can adapt to the requirements of the applications used by the customer, providing the customer with exactly the performance they need. I believe that other pioneering companies, like Finferries, will also find the potential of technology to develop even safer and more reliable services," says Janne Koistinen, Director of the 5G programme.

Sirius is a partly EU-funded innovation project that utilises a state-of-the-art 5G network and edge computing. A 5G environment intended especially for application development in the transport sector will be built along the road and water corridor extending from Helsinki Airport to Mariehamn and from there to Sweden. The region's programmable 5G network relies on Nokia's independent 5G core network and Network as Code development platform.

Contact: sirius@teliacompany.com