In the coming years, the mobile communications standard will develop into an important efficiency lever in the economy. For many companies it will also be a key differentiator in global competition. Because the course for the industry of the future is being set now. Many companies - from medium-sized businesses to DAX-listed corporations - are looking at the new opportunities offered by industrial 5G networks at an early stage. They are now preparing for a digitally connected future and investing in the restructuring of their production facilities. The digitalization pioneers of today are the industrial champions of tomorrow.
First 5G campus network for automotive production
One of these pioneers is the automobile manufacturer Mercedes-Benz Cars. With its Factory 56, the carmaker has built a new, modern factory in Sindelfingen near Stuttgart that sets new standards in terms of digitalization, automation and climate efficiency. The art of engineering and quality demands are not only placed on the automobile, but also on its own production processes. The factory is fully networked. A core element of this showcase project of Industry 4.0 is the high-performance 5G campus network as an integral part of the ongoing automobile production.
Together we as Telefónica Deutschland / O2 as project partner and Ericsson as network supplier were able to accompany this exciting process and build the first 5G campus network for Mercedes-Benz Cars. A network that makes every technician's heart beat faster.
The 5G campus network is divided into a radio network and a core network: An optimal arrangement of Ericsson's 5G indoor antennas ensures uninterrupted mobile radio coverage over an area of approximately 20,000 square meters of the factory. All data converge in the local core network on compact servers and are processed centrally there. In this way, all data and information remain the full property of the company.
The 5G campus network ensures that machines and equipment on the factory floor communicate with each other intelligently, securely and in real-time. Production lines can thus be designed extremely flexible - depending on requirements and production situation. Instead of manually rebuilding production for each car model, various production components are always flexibly interlinked.
Industrial 5G solutions require experienced technology partners
At Telefónica Deutschland / O2, we have been working on intelligent networking solutions for our business and industrial customers since early on. In recent years, we have built numerous private networks and indoor solutions for our customers. What started with 4G is now moving on to even more powerful 5G solutions - from non-standalone to standalone 5G networks. In terms of real-time communication and the Internet of Things (IoT), 5G offers significantly better connectivity opportunities for companies that can be integrated into ongoing production and logistics processes and provide important added value here.
As a partner for industry, we are accompanying companies of all sizes for planning and construction as well as for operation, maintenance and further expansion of such networks. We are in a position to offer every company a tailor-made 5G networking solution - precisely tailored to the respective needs and wishes.
In the end, the right technology is also crucial. With Ericsson we had a strong technology partner at our side during the planning and construction of the 5G campus network for Mercedes Benz-Cars. A noticeable 5G spirit and a clear technology focus ultimately bring clear advantages in the construction of campus solutions.
We also deliberately chose Ericsson as our technology partner for the implementation of our new, nationwide 5G core network - the central and most security-relevant part of a mobile phone network. But the respective 5G vision of our companies goes far beyond that.
Industry 4.0: 5G goes into the cloud
Together with Amazon Web Services (AWS), we have taken an innovative and bold new step to take 5G networking solutions for enterprises in this country to a new level: We are moving our O2 5G core network for industrial applications to the cloud. This is a paradigm shift for all of us. The original hardware-centric technology of a campus network is being transformed into an extensive, cloud-based software solution.
This virtualization offers companies two major advantages: Thanks to the cloud-based 5G core network, we significantly simplify the construction of 5G campus networks - if our customers so desire. A local core network is no longer necessary. Servers do not need to be set up or upgraded. The core network is located in the cloud - and meets the highest standards of security, quality, functionality and performance.
This again rapidly accelerates the introduction of new industrial applications. Thanks to the cloud-based 5G core network, companies can draw on existing programming interfaces in the developer community and do not have to develop these applications from scratch and implement them on the network themselves. This saves time, costs and IT resources. At the same time, the time-to-market for new products and applications is accelerated enormously. By virtualizing our 5G core network, we enable clear competitive advantages for all business customers - from lower costs to innovation leadership.
Our goal is clear: We want to offer companies first-class networking solutions to make them fit for 5G and a digitally connected future. 5G is a reality - and we are making sure that we lead the industry quickly and securely into the 5G era.
