Vodafone Spain and mining player Geoalcali unveiled a plan to install a private 5G network in one of the latter’s facilities, infrastructure set to connect people and machinery in the most remote underground areas.
The mine is to be located in Navarra, Spain, with workers set to benefit from voice and data connectivity through smartphones, and access to push-to-talk systems in the most demanding locations.
Vodafone Spain indicated installing nodes “even in the deepest” parts of the site would significantly improve “communication and access to data in real time”.
The network includes private 4G and 5G access and will form part of a wider digitalisation project of the working environment in and around the mine. This includes video surveillance systems, Wi-Fi connectivity, digital twins and site monitoring with drones.
Vodafone Spain positioned the deployment as a “breakthrough in the mining sector”, adding it “opens the door to replicating this solution in other industries looking to take advantage of the benefits of private 5G connectivity”.
Mining has proved a popular area for private mobile network projects and deployments given the remote nature of the sites and need for reliable communication for worker safety applications within the often dangerous environment.
Source: Mobile World Live
