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Telefónica takes three-pronged approach to private networks, unlicensed spectrum

Among telecoms operators grappling with the concept of private industrial networks, and ways to coexist with enterprises seeking control of their own LTE and 5G infrastructure, Telefónica cuts an assured figure. It has been developing its strategy around private networks for 18 months at...

Report available now: From supply chain to demand chain – how IoT and AI are enabling the supply chain to flex to changing demand

AUSTIN, Texas, March 25, 2019 — Digital transformation of the supply chain will be bookended by two key technologies: the internet-of-things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI). Everything else is held in place by these twin digital capabilities. This is the conclusion of a new editorial...

Bosch proclaims 5G, OPC-UA, and TSN, as Industry 4.0 finally gets ‘practical’

Incoming 5G technologies will be key for higher reliability and lower latency of industrial automation processes, said Bosch Rexrouth, the automation technology unit of German industrial giant Bosch Group, ahead of the Hannover Messe 2019 next week. Bosch reckons the so-called Industry 4.0 movement, capturing...

Ericsson pre-packs private LTE and 5G for factories and warehouses

Ericsson has launched a private network solution that seeks to simplify the deployment and management of private LTE and 5G networks for industrial enterprises with no prior experience of cellular network operations. Compatriot transport company Scania has already implemented the package, dubbed Ericsson Industry...

LTE and 5G for industrial IoT: What are private networks, and how do they work?

Private cellular networks are standard 3GPP-based cellular networks offering a combination of low-power wide-area (LPWA), broadband LTE, and even ‘massive’-scale, ultra-reliable 5G connectivity for exclusive use by private parties. They are deployed and managed separately of public cellular networks, but function in the same way....

The supply chain is dead; long live the demand chain! How AI is tilting the balance between supply and demand

For digital transformation of the supply chain, artificial intelligence (AI) is effectively the only game in town. This is because it is the only technological discipline that knits together a chain of supply, making its parts work in concert to bring intelligence across its...

LTE docks at Oulu, as Nokia and compatriots go mob-handed on private networks

Finnish network vendor Nokia and Finnish private LTE provider Ukkoverkot have signed a five-year deal to bring connectivity, automation, and intelligence to the Port of Oulu, also in Finland. The project will start with the establishment of a private LTE network, attaching to internet...

Nerdery: Four vertical sectors primed for IoT expansion (Reader Forum)

Global IoT spending is predicted to reach $745 billion this year, a 15 per cent increase over 2018 – and this double-digit acceleration is expected to continue. Growth can be attributed in part to the manufacturing behind core IoT technologies. Processing speeds have increased, physical...

Siemens releases new edge-based analytics tools for high-speed machining

Siemens has released new edge analytics tools to process data from workpiece machining, and deliver new insights and efficiencies to manufacturing operations. It has also revealed new edge hardware to simplify cloud connectivity for industrial IoT functions. Its new MyWorkpiece applications, part of its Sinumerik...

European tech giants buying digital startups, China buying European tech giants

Traditional industrial technology giants are transforming their businesses by buying, funding or partnering with connected and intelligent manufacturing technologies and data management companies. The trend is most notable in Europe, among companies like like Bosch Rexroth and Siemens. At the same time, China is...

ADLINK preps first micro-edge AI solution for LTE small cell poles and 5G radios

ADLINK Technology and Illinois-based manufacturer Charles Industries have demonstrated the industry’s first micro-edge low-latency AI solution that can be co-located on LTE small cell poles or with emerging 5G radios. The California-based edge solution provider has also announced a deal with Google Cloud to integrate...

Robots, robots, robots… and AI – How BMW is automating its supply chain functions

Note, this article is continued from a previous post, entitled ‘1.8k suppliers, 31m parts, 10k vehicles – How BMW is making sense of its supply chain’. Click here to go to the previous article.  But BMW’s major drive, to date, has been around automation. Indeed,...

1.8k suppliers, 31m parts, 10k vehicles – How BMW is making sense of its supply chain

BMW Group has a global roster of about 1,800 suppliers, scattered at 4,000 points across the globe. Together, they deliver 31 million parts to 30 BMW production sites, worldwide, every day. At the same time, almost 10,000 vehicles come off its production lines daily,...

Private networks and public slices will combine in hybrid industrial 5G, says Nokia

Note, this article is continued from a previous post, entitled ‘Industrial companies are building private networks because they have to, says Nokia’. Click here to go to the previous article.  Where were we? Oh yes: part-way through a narrative about the desire of industry to...

AT&T mixes industry verticals and digital tech to brew-up new supply-chain magic

The supply chain links the whole Industry 4.0 movement. For higher-grade operational intelligence to be brought to bear across the wider industrial market, the supply chain needs to mesh-in with the various stages of production and delivery. It has to be integrated in order...

NTT bundles in FogHorn’s edge AI software to round out industrial IoT offer

Japanese telecoms giant NTT is working with California-based industrial IoT software developer Foghorn to deliver edge-based machine intelligence to industrial clients. NTT-subsidiary NTT Data, offering systems-integration and IoT consultancy services, has selected Foghorn’s Lightning software for its on-premise analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) solutions, which...

Industrial companies are building private networks because they have to, says Nokia

Industrial companies will invest in their own private LTE and 5G networks because the business case for digital change is irresistible, and because they want control of their own infrastructure. This leaves operators, betting on new revenue from enabling industrial transformation, in the cold,...

Software AG cites deals with AT&T, AWS, Dell in pursuit of €24bn IoT opportunity

Germany-based Software AG has reorganised its channel strategy to prioritise IoT platform deals with the likes of AT&T, ‘hyper-scale’ cloud deals with the likes of AWS, edge hardware deals with the likes of Dell, and IT and IoT reseller deals with the likes of...

Private networks, guaranteed service, total control – “We are proving 5G for Industry 4.0,” says Vodafone

Vodafone will use a range of private networking options to serve industrial verticals, it has said, as it develops its advanced LTE and emerging 5G proposition for enterprises. These options include spot usage of unlicensed LTE, localised usage of public LTE, and dedicated slices...

Port of Rotterdam extends private LTE setup to drive automation and intelligence

Dutch industrial tech provider Koning & Hartman and Irish private-network provider Druid Software have extended their work to bring automation and intelligence to operations at the Port of Rotterdam. The pair have established a private LTE network at the port, using spectrum licensed by...

Google intros new AI edge hardware for predictive maintenance, machine vision, robotics

Google has released new hardware for machine learning at the edge in the form of a single-board computer running its edge-based Tensor Processing Unit (TPU) processor. Alongside the new system-on-module (SOM), available under its Coral brand, Google has unveiled a USB-connected accessory that brings...

IBM intros industrial AI and IoT suite to help manage asset downtime and maintenance

IBM has introduced a new suite of industrial internet of things (IoT) solutions for preventative and predictive downtime and maintenance that leverage artificial intelligence and advanced analytics. The solution will reduce the risk of failure of physical assets including vehicles, manufacturing robots, turbines, mining...

Microsoft mixes gaming and industry to make HoloLens 2 the king of MWC gadgets

Mobile World Congress (MWC) is an operator show, run by the GSMA operator group, that has always looked and sounded like a handsets show, dominated by device makers. On Sunday night at MWC 2019, as Samsung and Huawei gathered the blogger world in cavernous...

The raw and the cooked – Impressions of MWC 2019, and the state of ‘things’

What is 5G anyway? Ericsson kicked off Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2019 by stating it is deploying 5G networks at pace, faster than anyone else. But these networks – alongside those of its peers, and all the slick handsets (some foldable) on the stands – just...