Nokia, CENGN and NORCAT to power mining innovation with private wireless network

• Nokia will deploy its private LTE digital automation platform at NORCAT’s Underground Centre in Sudbury, Ontario, to establish an Underground Global Mining Innovation Centre.
• The Nokia Digital Automation Cloud will enable secure wireless communications between miners and surface personnel, including push-to-talk and push-to-video services
• The platform will also enable future applications, such as underground asset tracking, autonomous vehicles, and drone surveillance

Nokia announced that it has joined forces with CENGN and NORCAT to install and operate a private LTE/4.9G wireless connectivity network in NORCAT’s Underground Centre. NORCAT and CENGN will serve as a hub for the future of mining technology, while Nokia furthers its commitment towards advancing worldwide mining innovation.

The three parties have collaborated to deploy network connectivity at the NORCAT Underground Centre. NORCAT enables start-ups, small/medium enterprises and international companies to develop, test and demonstrate innovative and emerging technologies in their operating mine. It is a destination for miners from around the world to see, train on and understand emerging technologies that are poised to transform the global mining industry.

The Nokia Digital Automation Cloud will provide a high bandwidth, low-latency private LTE wireless network to support mission-critical communication services, asset tracking and remote-controlled autonomous vehicles. As opposed to legacy wireless technologies, such as Wi-Fi, industrial-strength LTE/4.9G wireless provides true mobile coverage and supports a larger amount of active connections per access point with far greater reliability and security. With this network, NORCAT’s tech clients, utilizing the NORCAT Underground Centre, will have the ability to develop, test and demonstrate emerging technologies, such as private radio services and autonomous vehicles, to create safer, more productive and efficient mines.

Nokia is a leader in providing the next generation of wireless technology to the mining community as it embraces digitalization as part of Industry 4.0 transformation. Working with mining industry partners Komatsu and Sandvik, Nokia’s private LTE/4.9G and 5G networks now power autonomous haulage and IoT solutions for the mining industry around the world.

Don Duval, CEO, NORCAT, said: “The NORCAT Underground Centre provides our global mining technology clients with a state-of-the-art operating mine that serves as an ‘active laboratory’ to develop and showcase new mining technology innovations. Private LTE is a big step forward for the industry, and the Nokia Digital Automation Cloud as a platform within the Underground Centre will enable the exploration and creation of innovative solutions for mining.”

Jean-Charles Fahmy, CEO, CENGN, said: “This is an important milestone for the global mining industry. We’re looking forward to providing our technical expertise and access to our network testbed as we all work together to develop new digital transformation use-cases and emerging technologies to drive and accelerate mining innovation.”

Stephan Litjens, General Manager, Nokia Digital Automation, said: “As part of our commitment to the global mining industry, we are proud to work closely with CENGN and NORCAT to explore the deployment possibilities of our next-generation wireless solution to advance mining technology and practices. With LTE today, and 5G tomorrow, we will enable a new era of industrial-grade wireless communication that will facilitate improved productivity, worker safety and environmental sustainability for mines around the world.”

Nokia has deployed over 1,300 mission-critical networks with leading customers in the transport, energy, large enterprise, manufacturing, webscale and public sector segments around the globe. Nokia has also pioneered the private wireless space with many verticals, and now has over 130 large enterprise customers deploying private wireless networks in their industrial premises around the world.

Source: Nokia media announcement