Telstra delivers private 5G to AgriFood Connect in world first

Telstra and Ericsson have completed the world’s first deployment of Ericsson Private 5G Network technology, for Telstra Enterprise customer AgriFood Connect.

Ericsson Private 5G is a private wireless network platform that facilitates the use of both LTE and 5G standalone networks simultaneously. Telecom service providers will be able to use the technology to provide dedicated private mobile networks to enterprise customers.

AgriFood Connect is using the network to provide industrial IoT capabilities that can support a variety of business requirements such as asset condition monitoring and the collection of data from machinery.

Telstra Network and Infrastructure Executive Iskra Nikolova said the world-first deployment shows the promise of private 5G for Australian businesses, particularly in regional areas.

“The combination of a dedicated network in partnership with Telstra’s existing network capabilities can facilitate the implementation of a whole variety of new and emerging technologies,” she said.

“Challenging locations in regional Australia, where there is comparatively limited backhaul capacity, will greatly benefit from this technology. For example, a remote farming or a manufacturing business could embrace the latest advancements in video analytics and IoT connectivity, almost regardless of their location, with the data processed onsite.”

Ericsson Australia and New Zealand head Emilio Romeo added that the deployment represents an important step towards automation and control through intelligent 5G connectivity.

“The Ericsson Private 5G platform will enable emerging industrial use cases across multiple verticals such as autonomous mobile robots (AMRs), AI, automation, drone technology, augmented reality and virtual reality, and many more innovative 5G use cases made available through Ericsson’s robust Industry 4.0 partner ecosystem,” he said.

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