STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Verizon Communications Inc, one of the largest U.S. telecom companies, on Thursday signed its first private 5G contract in Europe with Associated British Ports (ABP) to deploy the mobile network at the Port of Southampton. Port of Southampton, on England’s south coast, is one of the largest ports for cars and cruises, handling about 900,000 cars and millions of cruise passengers annually. It will also become the first mainland port in the UK to have private 5G. Verizon in October struck here deals with Microsoft and Nokia for deploying private 5G. In international markets, where Verizon doesn"t have its own network, it is working with Nokia to build private networks for manufacturing and logistics companies. Private 5G networks remove the need for businesses to jostle for speed with others on a public network and help enable data-intensive applications that use computer vision, augmented reality and machine learning to increase productivity. The new tech will help the port to enable the use of real-time analytics, asset tracking, autonomous guided vehicles and safety monitoring. “We have been able to equip ABP to take advantage of the immediate benefits private 5G offers, and ... take full advantage of new technology applications and real-time analytics which will digitally transform its services in the future,” said Tami Erwin, CEO, Verizon Business.