Nokia is deploying a 5G SA (standalone) network in its homeland of Finland to accelerate the digital transformation of mining.
The vendor is working with mobile operator Telia and its partner Digita to deploy the network for Agnico Eagle Finland Oy.
Agnico Eagle operates the Kittilä mine in northern Finland which is the largest primary gold producer in Europe. The 5G SA network will support Industry 4.0 use cases at the mine.
Tommi Kankkunen, General Manager of the Kittilä mine, said:
“Having already piloted autonomous and remotely controlled machinery in recent years, we chose to work with Nokia, Telia, and Digita to deliver capabilities for the next phase of our digital transformation journey.
We want to innovate by using the latest technologies and will leverage the Nokia 5G SA private network to enhance operational efficiency and support the highest level of safety for teams working at the mine.”
The network will reach depths of up to one kilometre to support both above and below-ground operations and will make use of real-time data processing at the edge.
Some of the Industry 4.0 use cases at the mine could include autonomous vehicles, high-precision positioning, and group communications.
Stephan Litjens, Head of Enterprise Solutions at Nokia, commented:
“This is another great example of how collaboration across the ecosystem is essential for developing winning technology solutions to meet productivity, safety, and sustainability targets.
We are pleased to work with Telia and Digita to deliver our leading 5G standalone private wireless technology and enable new Industry 4.0 use cases for the Kittilä Mine.
Nokia industrial private wireless networks provide secure, reliable connectivity to meet the stringent operational demands of today’s mining industry, and 5G enables even greater levels of performance.”
The 5G SA network will be based on Nokia’s Modular Private Wireless (MPW) solution and incorporate the vendor’s 5G RAN AirScale base station technology and Compact Mobility Unit-based 5G core.
The network will be deployed in phases and is estimated to be completed by October 2022.
(Photo by Jingming Pan on Unsplash)
