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Posted On

10
November
2021

Vodafone Ukraine builds first Privat Network in Ukraine on territory of Yeristovo Mining

KYIV. Nov 10 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The mobile operator Vodafone Ukraine has built the first Privat Network in Ukraine using LTE technology at a frequency of 5.7 GHz on the territory of Yeristovo Mining and Processing Plant, which is part of Ferrexpo Group.

As reported on the Vodafone Ukraine website, within the framework of the project, Private Networks e-LTE was built in the quarries of Ferrexpo Group, which makes it possible to implement solutions for the automation of production, which will reduce operating costs, ensure safe mining and the absence of personnel in hazardous areas of work.

The project was implemented on 19 base stations, and Ferrexpo, having the status of a regional telecom operator, received a license to own frequencies of 5.7 GHz.

According to Yuriy Arseniev, Director of Information Technology and Automation at Ferrexpo, the cost of a local license for working with LTE frequencies is measured in "hundreds, maybe thousands of hryvnias."

"Yeristovo Mining, we tested several technologies before settling on this solution," he stressed.

According to Arseniev, the cost of the Private LTR Network deployment project at the enterprise is just over $1 million.

Only LTE meets all our requirements.

The average latency is about 50-80 milliseconds, the average speed is about 3.5-4 Mbit from each piece of equipment, since the largest data flow goes from the equipment to the server.

"On this network we have not separate sensors, but whole machines. In this case, we have several drilling rigs controlled and we are testing several units of unmanned dump trucks. In the near future – we are currently updating the fleet of existing machines – we will connect several dozen additional units of equipment to this network. In general, this network is designed for 100-120 units of equipment at Yeristovo open pit," Arseniev emphasized.

According to him, today 4G technology is quite enough for work at the enterprise, but 5G technology will give much more opportunities for the implementation of new technologies at the enterprise.

"We are waiting for the emergence of 5G technology, and as soon as it becomes available for the private market, we will be happy to test this technology for ourselves […] We hope that 5G will be able to provide higher data transfer rates," Arseniev stressed.

The enterprise, in particular, launched the largest mill for grinding iron ore in Ukraine – one of the largest mills of this type in the world. For the first time in national history, a production line of this type and capacity was launched and adjusted by remote control. In the conditions of strict quarantine, the contractor’s specialists – the Swedish-Swiss company ABB – were unable to connect and configure the equipment directly at the production site. Therefore, using the LTE network of Vodafone Ukraine, specialists who were in Ukraine set up the equipment under the remote guidance of colleagues from Sweden using special mobile terminals.

Private Networks e-LTE of Vodafone Ukraine also covered Poltava and Yeristovo quarries of Ferrexpo Group, where unmanned drilling rigs operate. Each one has six cameras installed, allowing remote control of the work from the Central Dispatch Center of Yeristovo Mining.

"Our task today is to begin to form an ecosystem of solutions for the industry, in particular, on the basis of Private Networks, to make industrial solutions mainstream that contribute to the competitiveness of not only separate enterprises, companies, but also the country’s economy as a whole. It is important that there are companies in Ukraine, such as Ferrexpo, that promote innovations and partnership with which allows in practice to unleash the potential of Private Networks for the industrial sector," Andriy Fedorov, Head of B2B Sales Department at Vodafone Ukraine, said.

Ferrexpo is an iron ore company with assets in Ukraine.

Vodafone Ukraine is the second largest mobile operator in Ukraine.