Boliden, Telia and Ericsson collaborate underground
Boliden is joining Telia and Ericsson’s 5G innovation programme NorthStar, in a collaboration 750 metres underground.
Together, the companies are upgrading the existing 5G network in Boliden’s Kankberg mine to test remotely controlled and autonomous vehicles and machines in a live environment. The aim is to understand the capacity, stability and security requirements of the network and the things that get connected in real mining operations.
Boliden has long been working to digitise and automate mining operations, to increase productivity and make mines safer. Remote-controlled and autonomous vehicles and drilling machines are already in use. A prerequisite for this to work well and safely is robust and secure digital infrastructure with reliable wireless networks hundreds of metres underground.
“It feels great to welcome Boliden to NorthStar. Telia, Ericsson and Boliden have worked closely together for many years – and were actually the first in the world to build a 5G network together underground. The development has come a long way and the focus now is to connect vehicles, equipment and people in the mine to the 5G network and understand what the requirements are for the network to be able to roll it out on a broad front in a live production environment,” says Magnus Leonhardt, Head of Strategy and Innovation, Telia’s Corporate Business.
Lennart Håkansson, North Sweden Business
