As mines, ports, factories and other sectors turn to private networking, the equipment specialist has unveiled a private cellular 4G and 5G network solution it said will drive industry 4.0 and the digital transformation of industrial sectors.
Installed within hours, Ericsson Private 5G provides simple 4G LTE and 5G Standalone (SA) connectivity primarily targeting – but not limited to – manufacturing, mining and process industry, offshore and power utilities, as well as ports and airports.
It can optimise and simplify business operations with cloud-based network management and keep sensitive data on-premise. It promises zero downtime upgrades and guarantees high performance through Service-Level Agreements (SLAs) and is flexible enough to be scaled to support larger coverage areas, more devices and higher capacity when needed.
Thomas Noren, head of dedicated networks, business area technologies and new businesses, Ericsson, said: "With Ericsson Private 5G, we take the best of Ericsson's current portfolio and top it up with the best of our new technology. We do this to give businesses what they need to improve productivity, enable new offerings and give employees a better working environment.
"With Ericsson Private 5G, we also give operators a better way to serve business customers and leverage their assets - in short, to grow beyond mobile broadband," Noren continued.
The technology builds on Ericsson's 4G/5G radio and dual mode core technology, enabling a wide variety of use cases for both indoor and outdoor environments while integrating well with business operations, devices and applications.
Businesses that utilise the solution can manage their networks and integrate with IT/OT systems via an open API.
Use cases include tracking assets and real-time automation to improve productivity in warehouses, and a digital twin that can help to optimise manufacturing operations. Efficient quality inspections can also be performed via augmented reality or smart surveillance drones to increase worker safety, particularly in potentially hazardous environments such as ports and mines.
Peter Burman, program manager mine automation, at Swedish mining company Boliden, said: "Automation, and safety through automation in our mining operations is an absolute must for us. Ericsson Private 5G is exactly what Boliden needs to bring high quality, fast and secure connectivity into potentially hazardous environments allowing us to mobilise efficiency and safety improving use cases."
Private 5G networks are used to run IoT networks unconnected to public mobile networks, which means deployments are not tied to public roll outs.
In recent years, Ericsson has connected a number of industrial locations with private networks, including Mercedes-Benz Sindelfingen plant in southern Germany and in Russia last year, the country’s first 5G-ready private network was deployed by Mobile TeleSystems (MTS), using Ericsson's Dedicated Networks solution.
Also in the news today, Cradlepoint – which was acquired by Ericsson last year – has partnered with Vodafone to provide a cloud-managed enterprise solution for organisations deploying an IoT strategy.
Organisations implementing the solution will be able to address even the most challenging IoT deployments via fast and secure Wireless WAN connectivity. This will allow them to connect devices to their network, prioritise network traffic, control sensitive data, and run core business applications in a secure environment.
