How private 5G networks are creating a leaner, greener industries
As 5G is rolled out, new technologies and private 5G networks are driving the digital transformation of many traditional industries and delivering massive efficiency and sustainability gains.
Huawei is at the forefront of this digital revolution, and over the last year has created hundreds of private 5G networks, for a variety of enterprises, from ports and manufacturing hubs, to chemical industry campuses.
Private 5G networks create unrivalled reliability, speed and security, coupled with lower latency. These benefits are driving new applications in areas such as machine vision, remote control and automated guided vehicles, to make industries leaner and greener.
For example, at the port of Ningbo-Zhoushan, China, the busiest in the world in terms of cargo tonnage, crane operators have left their uncomfortable cabs, which often caused chronic health problems, and now operate up to four cranes each, from the comfort of a control room. Moreover, the private 5G network has increased the efficiency of the port by 80% and cut the time it takes to load a container onto a vehicle from 50 mins to 30 mins.
It has also meant that a fleet of intelligent, automated vehicles can perform much of the port’s work, safely and quickly, overseen by two controllers, jointly responsible for up to 29 vehicles.
Elsewhere, private 5G is driving cloud-based AI transformations in manufacturing, especially in inspections, while 5G-enabled ‘patrol bots’, can now roam vast chemical plants 24/7, looking out for signs of danger, saving lives and driving efficiencies.
Arguably, however, private 5G, and ICT more generally, will have its biggest impact in making industries, and the planet, much, much greener.
According to GeSI's SMARTer2030 report, by embracing ICT technologies, industries will be able to significantly reduce their own carbon emissions, resulting in a global carbon emissions reduction of 20%.
Key to our green vision is the belief that user experience should be a core metric for the success of green initiatives, rather than traditional indicators, as this frees up creative space to improve energy efficiency.
A good example can be seen in Germany, where an automated intelligent shutdown solution runs in shopping malls at night. While slightly reducing one performance indicator, peak rates, crucially, it delivers on lowering site energy consumption by 10%, all without disrupting user experience.
None of this happens without significant investment in R&D, combined with a network of partnerships with innovators and SMEs, and Huawei’s commitment to both is world-leading. Last year, Huawei invested $22.4bn into research and development, because we know that ICT’s contribution to our low-carbon future will be a game-changer.
In the UK, Huawei supports the 5G Accelerator Programme at Cambridge Wireless, a private 5G Network which gives SMEs the infrastructure and technical support to take their ideas to the next level. In the last year alone, half a dozen companies have taken advantage of the opportunity to develop their ideas. These include a company that is bringing the dawn of autonomous vehicles one step closer through its on-board sensors. Another company is using an IoT solution to anticipate problems in water systems in real time, thereby preventing waste, and saving energy.
By embracing the possibilities that new technologies offer, we can take a significant step towards building a low carbon society.
About Huawei
Huawei is a leading global provider of information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure and smart devices. With integrated solutions across four key domains – telecom networks, IT, smart devices, and cloud services – we are committed to bringing digital to every person, home and organization for a fully connected, intelligent world.
Huawei's end-to-end portfolio of products, solutions and services are both competitive and secure. Through open collaboration with ecosystem partners, we create lasting value for our customers, working to empower people, enrich home life, and inspire innovation in organizations of all shapes and sizes.
At Huawei, innovation focuses on customer needs. We invest heavily in basic research, concentrating on technological breakthroughs that drive the world forward. We have more than 194,000 employees, and we operate in more than 170 countries and regions. Founded in 1987, Huawei is a private company wholly owned by its employees. For more information, please visit Huawei online at www.huawei.com or follow us on:
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Private Networks User Guides & podcast
Private networks: a new user guide by techUK
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It introduces and describes the principles of neutral hosts, and then goes on to describe the architecture and ecosystem which supports the provision of shared services, particularly in the context of high capacity/low latency applications, which will drive 5G deployment. While this paper is focussed on 5G, many of the principles of neutral hosts, and the discussion of edge versus core provision will apply to other technologies such as Wi-Fi, including Wi-Fi 6.
The techUK podcast: Making the case for Private Networks
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