Fraunhofer IPT and Ericsson demonstrate what’s possible for industry with private 5G
Members of the 5G Alliance for Connected Industries and Automation (5G-ACIA) have tested a live 5G campus network at the world forum for process industry technology and innovation, ACHEMA.
This is the first time a live 5G campus network has been tested at the exhibition to demonstrate the wide industrial applications of private 5G, which stand to benefit from high availability, low latency networking, with strong resilience and high security standards. The 3.7 to 3.8 GHz ‘industrial frequency’ range was temporarily licensed by the German Federal Network Agency (BNetzA) for the 5G-ACIA.
The pilot operation shows important advances in how 5G campus networks can soon be deployed in industry and demonstrates the importance of collaboration between companies in working toward such advancements.
Dr. Andreas Mueller, 5G-ACIA Chair, says: "I am pleased with this pilot operation at ACHEMA for two reasons: First, it shows important advances in how a 5G network can be deployed in industry in the near future. Second, the collaboration between the different companies on the pilot represents exactly the goal of 5G ACIA: we want to provide a platform for the OT and ICT industries to exchange ideas on a regular basis and trialing together the technology.”
Niels König, coordinator of 5G Industry Campus Europe at Fraunhofer IPT, says: "We want to show companies that it is possible to configure, operate and manage a 5G network in the simplest way. Private 5G networks are very attractive for manufacturing companies because they offer 5G performance that matches the challenges of production – without compromise.”
Dr. Christoph Bach, CTO Service Providers Western Europe at Ericsson, says: “From the first test tube to the use of the latest wireless communication standard. Low latency, high availability and strong resilience as well as high security standards – these are the key aspects of 5G for chemical engineering and biotechnology industry.”
ACHEMA is the world forum for process industries and takes place every three years, with this year’s event taking place between August 22nd and August 26th. The exhibition covers everything from laboratory equipment, pumps, and analytical devices, to packaging machinery and software, representing all the technological demands of the chemical, pharmaceutical, and food production industries.