Konecranes takes 5G network to new heights

Crane specialist firm Konecranes has announced plans to deploy enhanced automated crane control with a new 5G long-term evolution (LTE) network.

The company has set up a 5G Standalone (SA) private wireless network in partnership with Nokia and Edzcom at its Hyvinkää smart factory in Finland which it claims will “deliver increased productivity”.

Konecranes’ crane trials across its Hyvinkää port operations will be supported by the 5G network incorporating high resolution wireless cameras across test cranes at its smart factory and research and development facilities.

Edzcom will jointly build and deploy a private wireless and application platform based on Nokia’s Digital Automation Cloud (DAC) at the Hyvinkää smart factory.

By upgrading from their existing 4G LTE network, Konecranes claims the 5G SA network will deliver “greater bandwidth, greater reliability, and lower latency in operations”.

Juha Pankakoski, executive vice president for technologies at Konecranes, said: “Factories and ports are increasingly becoming digitalized and automated, and machine-to-machine communication is on the rise, creating an ecosystem of connected devices.

“Establishing a private 5G network in our Hyvinkää smart factory, with its low latency, high bandwidth and greater reliability, gives us the chance to accelerate automation even further, improving efficiency and opening up new use cases that can benefit both Konecranes and its customers.”

To continue the conversation join us at Critical Communications Network - the new online community for the sector