Rogers will establish the Rogers Technology Center of Excellence at the Norcat Underground Center to develop new solutions for the global mining industry
Canadian operator Rogers Communications and skilled labor training company Norcat have announced a five-year strategic relationship to accelerate technology adoption in the global mining industry.
Through this collaboration, Rogers will establish the Rogers Technology Center of Excellence at the Norcat Underground Center to develop new solutions with the aim of increasing efficiency, safety, and productivity in mining.
“As part of our commitment to driving leading-edge innovation within mining, construction, and other industrial sectors, our collaboration with Norcat and the launch of the Rogers Technology Center of Excellence will foster unique opportunities to engage with likeminded organizations and emerging technology companies,” said Tom Turner, president at Rogers Business. “With this important investment, we will enable Canadian and global customers and partners, to develop, validate and implement their industrial automation ideas right here in Canada.”
The company highlighted that the new facility will make use of the telco’s 5G technology through a dedicated wireless private network which will deliver enhanced coverage, ultra-low latency and critical connectivity, enabling clients using the Norcat Underground Center to develop, test and demonstrate scalable technologies. These technologies include tele-remote and autonomous operations, industrial IoT, asset tracking, and drone mapping among many other use cases, Rogers said.
“The Norcat Underground Center has become the global destination to ‘see and touch’ all that is the future of mining technology and innovation. Using our ‘active laboratory,’ we connect and broker relationships between emerging technology companies and global mining companies, creating an ecosystem like no other in the world,” said Don Duval, CEO at Norcat.
In addition, Rogers will add a new 5G cell site and uplift an existing cell tower on its public network to bring 5G coverage to the Norcat Underground Center.
Rogers’ private 5G networking efforts are managed through its enterprise division, Rogers Business. A good example of the company’s efforts on that front come from Detour Lake, Ontario, home of a private 5G network running in an open pit mine owned by Kirkland Lake Gold. The private 5G setup uses Rogers’ full range of spectrum frequency bands and comprises five new cell towers to provide coverage for the entire site, which covers 80 square kilometers. The 5G network provides the business with the scale and agility it needs to employ extensive automation, said Rogers, merging telepresence, remote operations, and robotics.
Last year, Rogers Communications had announced the launch of its Standalone 5G core network in the country.
Rogers built its Standalone 5G network using Ericsson’s dual-mode 5G core. The Canadian operator had partnered with Ericsson in 2018 as its exclusive 5G vendor for its full network infrastructure, including core and Radio Access Network.
