How Can Private LTE Networks Help Industry?

Private LTE networks have become a fundamental ally, enabling industries to stay hyperconnected and ensuring real-time operational performance.

Industries must adapt to market changes and meet customer demands. This requires transforming the way they work and optimizing their operations in real time.

Private LTE networks have become a fundamental ally, enabling industries to stay hyperconnected and ensuring real-time operational performance.

The Case of Nokia's Factory in Oulu, Finland

This plant designs and manufactures a range of telecommunications products (such as base stations) that, once optimized, can be transferred and scaled to other production facilities worldwide.

Changes in the factory layout are constant, and flexibility is paramount.

The Problem

Traditionally, the plant managed machine and device telecommunications through Ethernet cables.

However, as the production facility evolves, so do the cabling requirements, adding significant costs for recabling work. Automating more processes was therefore a key objective, both in production and in material feeding to the machines.

To automate material transport, an Autonomous Intelligent Vehicle (AIV) was introduced, delivering materials from the warehouse to the production line without human interaction. Initially, the AIV was connected to a Wi-Fi network covering the storage and production areas.

However, once the AIV began daily operation, it quickly became evident that the network coverage was insufficient for its route and that connectivity was lost during handovers between one access point and the next.

The AIV travels long distances within the factory, including passing between metal storage racks that compromise connectivity. When it loses connection, the AIV stops for safety reasons as it loses its relative position within the plant, which halts material feeding on the production line and disrupts staff activity.

The Contribution of Private LTE

A private wireless network (4.9G/LTE) was deployed, ensuring secure and stable connectivity for all assets inside and outside the factory, regardless of the area.

As a result, the AIV can now operate beyond fixed Wi-Fi coverage: it can fulfill functions anywhere in the plant. There is no longer a need to reconfigure the network when equipment moves to other areas, and connection interruptions have been eliminated.

Furthermore, thanks to the increased network capacity, the plant is also considering a fleet of connected AIVs to carry out various tasks.

You can learn more about this case here.

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