A test fragment of 5G network shall be deployed at Ukrainian industrial enterprise for the first time ever

Acting in partnership with DTEK and Ericsson Vodafone, Ukraine announced the launch of 5G-based Smart Factory project to be deployed at Kharkiv-based at Corum Svitlo Shakhtarya engineering plant, which produces mining equipment. Within the framework of this project, the companies shall start the development of a 5G Private Network that would integrate a variety of mobile devices, production equipment, actuation devices and remote and automated control systems of various kind.

The highly technological 5G network, powered by Ericsson, would allow to automate the production processes. Such functions as remote control and diagnostics of equipment and buildings using drones and the 360° camera shall be tested in Ukraine for the first time ever. Except production processes optimization, the launch of Private Network shall boost the level of industrial safety, as long as it would be possible to perform many operations remotely, whereas accurate monitoring would allow to prevent possible emergency situations.

“Today we are delighted to announce the launch of the first-ever project in Ukraine that we may call the project from the future. This is Smart Factory 5G. And it is no coincidence that such a project came to life: Vodafone is a global technology leader and we stream this colossal experience into Ukraine, launching the solutions that consolidate cutting-edge technologies together with our partners: 5G, Internet of things, big data, artificial intelligence and the like. We are now making a start at an enterprise of our partners, DTEK company, and this enterprise’s name is rather symbolic in Ukrainian language — Corum Svitlo Shakhtarya. The construction works on Private Network based on 5G technology are in full swing already. We are creating a platform where the business may perform “live” tests and put the potential of 5G-based solutions to solid practical use. Our project is an example of a synergy between DTEK and Ericsson that brings together the leading companies to jointly work on elaborating the intelligent production capacities in Ukraine,” — commented Olga Ustinova, Director General of Vodafone Ukraine.

“One of DTEK’s targets as a responsible and reliable company is transformation after 2025 into a digital enterprise, where the people and the technologies would interact seamlessly. For these purposes, we have launched the special-purpose MODUS program that coordinates digital transformation of all business blocks at DTEK, — commented Ildar Saleev, Director General of DTEK Energo. — Smart Factory 5G, the pioneering project at Corum Svitlo Shakhtarya plant is the first initiative of this kind for our mechanical engineering business. With this technology, we shall be able to use drones in order to inspect the hard-to-reach locations at the enterprise, as well as to improve the process of commissioning the equipment to our client online. These are the very first experimental attempts, while we are aware that in fact 5G technology offers a lot more opportunities to come. Prospectively, we plan to take advantage of these and to retrieve the data remotely from the combines that work in our coal mines, as well as to conduct the fully-fledged monitoring of the machine tools operation at the plant to optimize the equipment load. I am certain that this project shall become the beginning of large-scale industrial robot automation at Ukraine’s enterprises”.

As part of the project, the Dedicated Networks by Ericsson shall be implemented, which includes the Enterprise Core to power the network and radio access system that features the Ericsson Radio Dot System solution. Ericsson Enterprise Core is a virtual solution that is easily scalable and may support the connection up to 50,000 subscribers. Corum Svitlo Shakhtarya plant shall be equipped with 5G Private Network and shall be connected to the corporation’s general infrastructure through Vodafone’s high-speed durable communication channels.

“Here at Ericsson we focus on what we do best — cutting-edge technologies and innovations in communications. Our generic 5G communication network is an important part of the enterprise’s infrastructure, which allows bringing production management to the whole-new quality level, which is ensured by automating the technological processes. We have the privilege of being a technology partner of the first-ever pilot project in Ukraine that features an “intelligent” plant, powered with 5G technologies. It is the first step towards developing the intelligent production infrastructure in our country. The success of such projects depends on the effective and well-coordinated work of all the stakeholders and I am happy that we shall be partnering the pace-making companies that are leaders within their appropriate industries,” — commented Oleksiy Turchyn, Vice-President, Head of ІТ and Digital Solutions at Ericsson, Central Europe and Central Asia.

Signing by the participants of a miner’s helmet came as a symbolic start of Smart Factory 5G project in Ukraine. Corum Svitlo Shakhtarya plant also involved with the event via videoconference. Final part of Smart Factory 5G project announcement included specialized webinar that outlined business features of Dedicated Networks and was delivered by Mr. Kostyantyn Naumenko, Head of Radioaccess Network Planning and Development at Vodafone, Mr. Yuri Gluschenko, Head of Digital Services Business Development in Ukraine, Armenia and Georgia at Ericsson and Mr. Dmytro Osyka, DTEK’s IT Director.

All video footage of press conference and webinar may be viewed by clicking on the following links:

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