Jaguar Land Rover has deployed Private 5G at its Solihull plant in the UK.
The car manufacturer paired with Swedish vendor Ericsson to deploy the network at the Midlands plant.
Ericsson has deployed its Private 5G network through the West Midlands 5G Innovations Regions (5GIR) project.
This project is led by WM5G Limited and funded and awarded by the Department for Science, Innovation, and Technology (DSIT). The purpose of WM5G is to drive economic benefits in the manufacturing sector.
Ericsson said its network will support production of Range Rover vehicles at the plant. The vendor notes that its Private 5G network supports applications such as vision systems, IoT sensors, and production tools.
The aim of the network is for the support of IoT devices, AI, plus automation with an "eye toward automated guided vehicles (AGVs)."
Jaguar has "cut the copper," notes Ericsson, explaining that traditional wired networks are limited in what they can offer.
The 5G network can instead deliver real-time data transmission which Ericsson points out "ensures that Jaguar Land Rover's manufacturing processes are not only connected but also agile and efficient, leading to streamlined operations."
Ericsson claims its Private 5G network has improved workflow efficiency at the plant, helping workers to quickly swap and provision new or broken connected tools.
Jaguar could deploy Private 5G networks at some of its other sites in the future.
“Ericsson Private 5G provides a robust foundation for a connected, agile, and data-driven manufacturing environment. This positions us to enhance automation, digitalization, safety, and sustainability across our operations," said Stephen Mason, product manager of manufacturing, and global IT at Jaguar Land Rover.
Manish Tiwari, head of enterprise 5G & enterprise wireless solutions at Ericsson, added: “Private 5G is transforming manufacturing by supporting the complex connectivity needs of Industry 4.0. We are thrilled to partner with a luxury automotive leader like Jaguar Land Rover, providing a network solution that elevates their global manufacturing capabilities.”
Boldyn deploys 5G at Oulu University Hospital
There was another high-profile Private 5G deployment this week, as Boldyn Networks deployed a Private 5G Standalone (SA) network at Oulu University Hospital in Finland.
According to Boldyn, the network connects all devices and personnel at the hospital, and is able to stand up even if there's a power outage.
In this instance, Boldyn has deployed Nokia's Modular Private Wireless (MPW) network infrastructure.
"Now, with the private 5G SA network, we can utilize many of its strengths as a seamless handover, low latency, high capacity, cybersecurity, and availability in any circumstances," said Petri Parviainen, head of sales public sector, Private Networks Europe at Boldyn Networks.
"It allows the hospitals to constantly keep track of the healthcare processes while enabling seamless communication and collaboration of the hospital’s staff. This aligns with the main objective of the project, to elevate the quality of patient care."
The Private 5G network has enabled several healthcare devices to be used at the hospital, including wireless wearable technologies for patient wards through WICOAR HealthVision (smart glasses with augmented technologies). The purpose of this is to allow doctors and nurses to have instant access to patient data.
Other products include glasses for surgical theaters plus mobile app software, which has been designed for instant communications at the hospital.
