Nokia said that the new offering will chiefly benefit ports, manufacturers, energy, transportation, warehousing and logistics companies
Finnish vendor Nokia announced it is extending its industrial portfolio of ruggedized devices with the launch of an industrial 5G fieldrouter certified for the Japanese market.
In a release, Nokia said that the fieldrouter will allow asset-intensive enterprises in Japan to connect vehicles and equipment and use operational data to improve their agility and productivity. The vendor also said that the new offering will chiefly benefit ports, manufacturers, energy, transportation, warehousing and logistics companies.
“Private 5G wireless allows enterprises to connect workers and assets such as sensors and machines in the most reliable, secure way and with the lowest latency. This will allow them to gain access to operational technology (OT) in real time and leverage compelling Industry 4.0 use cases to boost productivity, efficiency and agility. These include enabling robots and vehicle automation on a grand scale, using operational data with analytics to make maintenance predictive, and further enhancing maintenance and planning by combining this data with artificial intelligence to create a digital twin of the operating environment,” Nokia said.
“Machines, systems, vehicles and sensors can be connected to the local private wireless networks via the Nokia Industrial 5G fieldrouter. As well as its wireless connectivity, the fieldrouter tunneling capabilities enables interoperability between industrial communications protocols such as PROFINET, EtherCAT, Modbus or OPC Unified Architecture (OPC UA). Offering IP67 protection for harsh indoor and outdoor environments and an anti-vibration design it ensures, for example, autonomous haulage trucks stay connected while traversing rough terrains around a mine and straddle trucks keep goods moving at ports. This constant connectivity is vital, not only for productivity, but also for safety, ensuring equipment can be halted in an instant,” the vendor added.
With the addition of the Industrial 5G fieldrouter for the Japanese market, Nokia said it is continuing to expand its portfolio of industrial private wireless solutions access points to allow enterprises in Japan to leverage dedicated coverage and capacity using the recently released 5G n79 band or other available 4.9G/LTE spectrum bands for local networks.
Donny Janssens, head of APJ enterprise private wireless campus at Nokia, highlighted that reliable, safe and pervasive connectivity of equipment and machines is vital for the digitalization of industry, allowing enterprises to connect operations end-to-end. “Nokia is doing this in the most intuitive way to allow Japanese businesses to accelerate their transformation. Customers can experience the capabilities of the ruggedized fieldrouter working in a 5G and 4.9G/LTE private wireless networks for themselves at our recently revamped Advanced Technology Center in Tokyo,” he said.
In May, Nokia had announced the opening of its revamped Advanced Technology Center (ATC) to test and demonstrate Nokia’s end-to-end portfolio of Local 5G equipment, software and services. The vendor noted that the center will allow enterprises, communications service providers, and infrastructure providers to learn and understand the potential of Local 5G technology, as private networks are referred to specifically in the Japanese market.
Nokia has acquired a Local 5G radio license from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, which allows it to demonstrate Local 5G in its Tokyo office.
Nokia also said it plans to further expand the Local 5G network to the workplace floor of its Tokyo office and create an environment where all employees can use the Local 5G network at the office.
