Industry 4.0
Capability drives
investment
Philip Mason talks to Nokia and BT about their efforts in the ‘Industry 4.0’ space, and in
particular how to sell the use-case to potential clients
The middle of July witnessed
a potentially important
moment in the journey
towards 5G for critical
communications, with the
3GPP Radio Access Network Group
announcing that ASN.1 of Release 16
had been ‘frozen’ (that is, approved
prior to the ‘correction phase’ and final
sign-off later in the year).
This is clearly good news for
anyone with an interest in critical
communications, taking us as it
apparently does one step nearer to the
roll-out of next-generation broadband
across an anticipated plethora of
verticals. These include, but are
by no means limited to, industry,
manufacturing and utilities, as well as
public safety.
While availability of the technology
– or, more specifically in this case,
the standards – are vital to the success
Adobe Stock/Blue Planet Studio
Convincing the marketplace
Focusing on BT to begin with, this
time last year saw the company staging
a product demonstration at the Titanic
Museum in Belfast, showcasing
collaborative work carried out with the
city’s harbour management. Having
arranged temporary coverage (via a
mast at the end of the original Titanic
runway), the company used nonstandalone
5G in order to enable the
harbour’s operations team to inspect a
crane, while simultaneously receiving
instructions in real time through an
augmented reality headset.
Speaking of the importance of the
demonstration and others like it in
convincing the market, BT enterprise
lead Jeremy Spencer says: “When
it comes to something like 5G, the
first step is the Belfast Harbour-type
showcases, which demonstrate the
art of the possible. The next step is
of 5G, however, equally important
is buy-in from the sector. This
includes not only manufacturers but
also the aforementioned verticals
themselves, some of which have been
traditionally quite risk averse when it
comes to replacing tried-and-tested
communications.
One major provider involved
in not just facilitating 5G but also
taking an active role in promoting its
potential is BT in the UK. This has
taken the form of trials, during which
the company’s newly rolled-out 5G
network has been put to work
within specific business critical
environments, in particular health and
transport/logistics.
Nokia, meanwhile, has embarked
upon a series of roll-outs, through
which the company anticipates a
safer, more efficient – and increasingly
automated – future for its clients.
October 2020 @CritCommsToday 47