BT and Ericsson have launched a new cooperative venture in which the two companies will collaborate to deliver private 5G networks to Industry 4.0 clients. The details of the multimillion-pound arrangement have not been released, although it is reported that the partnership duration is to be for several years.
Under the terms of the agreement, BT will use Ericsson technology to provide private 5G networks to partners in a variety of industries, including manufacturing, healthcare, and transportation and logistics, with a focus on enabling valuable solutions such as asset tracking, predictive maintenance and automation.
Asset tracking, predictive maintenance, networked sensors, real-time data processing, automation and robots are among the industry 4.0 solutions promised. The actual implementation may vary depending on the environment, but the private 5G network, which enables all of these use cases with low latency connectivity, is the main selling point.
Katherine Ainley, CEO Ericsson UK and Ireland commented: “This ground-breaking agreement with BT means we are together taking a leading role in ensuring 5G has a transformative impact for the UK. The high quality, fast and secure connectivity provided by Ericsson Private 5G can help organizations make all-important efficiency gains that can create safer, more productive, and sustainable business operations and help the country build global leaders in the industries and technologies of the future.”
This isn’t the first time BT and Ericsson have collaborated on a private 5G network. The two companies agreed on implementing a similar network at Belfast Harbor in Ireland in 2020, with the goal of making this facility one of the world’s first smart ports. Now, two years later, the operator is eager to tout the project’s accomplishments, positioning it as a model for a private 5G rollout in a real-world context and a technology enabler for a variety of other activities.
