The collaboration, which will see HERE become part of Ericsson’s Industry 4.0 Partner Ecosystem, will see the two companies focus on providing mines with private mobile networks and custom mapping capabilities. According to the duo, the combination of Ericsson 5G private network connectivity and HERE’s location services will deliver “true smart mining capabilities to pinpoint and navigate assets in real-time”.
A recent Ericsson report entitled Connected Mining predicted that smart mining operations will triple by 2025. The company claims greater access to private cellular networks across the complex and frequently shifting geography of mines will improve both operational efficiency and safety across the industry by enabling asset tracking and fleet telematics.
Thomas Norén, head of dedicated network at Ericsson, said: “We are partnering with HERE because of the breadth of their location services – ranging from mapping to routing, positioning and asset tracking. Combining our advanced private network solutions with HERE services will give mining firms a head start on their digitalization journey.”
The collaboration makes HERE the latest company to join Ericsson’s Industry 4.0 Ecosystem, which already includes tie-ups with Cisco, Cradlepoint, Dell and HPE.
Last year, Ericsson teamed up with MTS to deploy a 5G-ready private network at Russia’s largest iron ore mining and processing plant, JSC Karelsky Okatysh.
