YOU ARE AT:Industry 4.0

BROWSING: Industry 4.0

Less than half of US utilities are taking part in the energy transition

A survey of US utilities finds that nearly nine in 10 (88 percent of) utility executives reckon the energy transition is “extremely” or “very” important. Really, you have to wonder why the other 12 percent are still in their jobs. But less than half...

OMRON bundles managed private 5G from Edzcom into AMR solution

Cellnex-owned Edzcom, one of the pioneer firms in the industrial private cellular market, has a deal with electronics firm OMRON to provide industrial enterprises with a managed private LTE/5G service with the Japanese firm's industrial robotics products. The partnership has been formalised in the...

Drei Austria adds nationwide LoRaWAN to cellular 5G-IoT and NB-IoT offer

Network operator Hutchison Drei (Three) in Austria is rolling out a nationwide LoRaWAN network in its home work to provide industrial IoT connectivity for Industry 4.0 use cases, including for manufacturing companies, energy companies, solution providers, smart cities, retail companies, and facility management services....

What goes where – deconstructing critical 5G edge/cloud workloads

Note, this article is taken from the RCR editorial report on Critical 5G Edge Workloads, published in September. The following is the first part of the foreword to the report. Go here to download the full report. The subject will be further explored in the upcoming...

UScellular installs private 5G at KPMG’s customer centre in Chicago

The business arm of US wireless carrier UScellular has installed a private 5G network at KPMG’s customer co-creation centre at its headquarters in Chicago. The venue, dubbed the Ignition Center, measures 30,000 square feet and houses KPMG’s technology solutions teams. The new 5G network...

“Challenges persist” – the truth about private industrial 5G in 2023

Note, this article is taken from the RCR editorial report on Private 5G for IoT, published in July. The following is the first part of the foreword to the report. Go here to download the full report. It also takes and collates excerpts from...

Network X gears up for Paris showcase as telcos face ‘pivotal moment’

Ahead of its Network X trade event in Paris next week (October 24-26), UK publishing and exhibitions group Informa has said the telecoms industry faces a “pivotal moment” to monetise its fibre and 5G network investments and reassert its influence in the developing digital...

Failing demand for 5G and IIoT sinks cellular IoT sales; all hopes on RedCap

Global cellular IoT module shipments saw a three percent annual decline in the second quarter of 2023, compared with the year-ago period, according to the latest IoT module tracker by Counterpoint Research. The firm cited “lower demand and weaker economic sentiments”. China-based duo Quectel...

Nokia gets private LTE/5G gig at Kingston Freeport Terminal, Jamaica

Kingston Freeport Terminal Limited (KFTL) has selected Nokia to deploy a private LTE/5G network at its container terminal in Kingston, Jamaica, in the Caribbean. The deployment has been handled by US-based system integrator EGC International. KFTL is taking both Nokia’s Digital Automation Cloud private...

Five steps to a paperless factory (Reader Forum)

For production companies to thrive in today’s competitive market, going digital is not merely an option but a necessity. Workflows where paper still dominates are often the bottlenecks that frustrate employees. Implementation of a manufacturing execution system (MES) can help to effectively manage transformation...

Critical-edge 5G workloads for industrial IoT — what stays and what goes?

The grand combined promise of 5G networking and edge computing for enterprises is to max out the performance, reliability, and security of mission- and business-critical Industry 4.0 systems.But which workloads should always stay on-prem, for reasons of security and performance, and which can be...

‘The end of batteries’ – high-volume OPV-IoT smart factory to open in France

France-based startup Dracula Technologies, offering low-light energy-harvesting solutions for passive (battery-less) LoRaWAN-based IoT connectivity, has confirmed its new smart factory will start “high-volume” production in “early 2024”. The new 2,500 metre-square facility, in Valence in southeastern France, is to be fully automated, with capacity...

Betacom and Google Cloud open 5G-AI showcase at US Manufacturing Institute

Private network specialist Betacom, cloud provider Google Cloud, and IT distributor Ingram Micro have opened an Industry 4.0 showcase at the Factory Floor Lab in the Digital Manufacturing (MxD) Institute, located at the National Center for Cybersecurity in Manufacturing in Chicago in the US....

“Billions of new 5G devices” – Nokia hails UK RedCap field tests with BT, MediaTek

Nokia has hailed RedCap “successful” trials with telecoms firm BT Group and module maker MediaTek in the UK. Without saying much about the tests themselves, the trio took the opportunity to talk up the potential of reduced capability (RedCap) 5G to benefit both business...

Smart meter data is stuck, says UK report – strangling innovation, sustainability

Not enough is being made of smart meter data in the UK, despite one of the most expansive and productive metering rollouts in Europe. The existing system for regulation and management of energy data is strangling tech innovation and sustainability drives, says Energy Systems...

Six ways eSIM will change smart meters (and the whole of IoT) forever

So we know the equation, then: eSIM = MFF2 + eUICC. We now want to know what the left-hand side expression means for smart meters – so that, by extension, because metering is the biggest story in IoT-town, we can know what it means...

DT, AWS, VMware demo global private 5G and edge compute platform

In a major show of industry collaboration, Deutsche Telekom has combined with AWS and VMware, plus Mavenir and Dell, to develop a global private 5G network and edge compute platform for enterprises. The new proof of concept is dubbed a “globally distributed enterprise network”,...

To sell 5G SLAs, CSPs need complete network visibility and telco-grade accuracy (Reader Forum)

With the ongoing roll-out of 5G standalone networks, wireless carriers find themselves tasked with meeting heightened service quality and performance expectations. In an era where service degradation or network failure is simply not an option, especially for mission-critical applications like autonomous vehicles, telemedicine and...

The eSIM / eUICC equation – in sum: eSIM = MFF2 + eUICC

As a matter of record, commonly missed, it is worth noting that eSIM and eUICC are different technologies. Asked about the application of eSIM (and iSIM) in smart metering, specifically, Neil Bosworth, head of vertical segments and IoT products at Telit Cinterion, wants this...

Ligado Networks teams up with Ubiik to offer US utilities Band-54 private LTE at 1670-1675 MHz

US satellite communications provider Ligado Networks is to offer a private LTE solution from Taiwanese advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) and private network provider Ubiik to run in Band 54 spectrum at 1670-1675 MHz. It is targeting the utilities sector, and other mission-critical customers. Band...

Shake your market maker – why smart meters matter (part 2)

Note: this the second part of an introduction to a forthcoming editorial report on smart meters, covering how ‘IoT has changed up a gear in the utilities market’. The report will be available next month. RCR Wireless will host a webinar on the same...

Private LTE specialist Ubiik signs with Canadian utilities group

Taiwanese advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) and private network provider Ubiik has joined Electricity Canada, representing the electric power industry in Canada, to deliver private LTE networks for utilities in the 900MHz, 1.4GHz, and 1.8GHz bands. The arrangement furthers Ubiik’s international expansion, as well as...

Why meters matter – why smart meters are the best of IoT (and deserve more love)

Note: this an introduction to and reduction of a forthcoming editorial report on smart meters, covering ‘how IoT has changed up a gear in the utilities market’. The report will be available next month. RCR Wireless will host a webinar on the same subject...

Automating 5G and oRAN testing

4G revolutionized data throughput and latency, offering simplified architecture and scalable networks; 5G propels us even further. With latency below 5 ms and remarkably higher speeds, it unlocks real-time processing, enabling AI/ML in diverse scenarios: intelligent transportation for smart cities, energy-efficient homes, secure autonomous...