Vertical: Manufacturing
Application: Industry 4.0
Ecosystem: Verizon Business, Ericsson
Private Network: 5G
Verizon Business is upgrading manufacturing operations for engine maker Cummins with a combination of private 5G and neutral host networking at Cummins’ Jamestown Engine Plant in Lakewood, New York. This deployment marks the first commercial use of Verizon’s new neutral host network product.
The networks will provide comprehensive connectivity across the massive 2 million square foot facility, enabling both secure private 5G capabilities for Cummins’ industry 4.0 initiatives as well as a neutral host network to allow employees and visitors to access improved public cellular coverage.
On the private 5G side, Verizon is building a dedicated private network using its licensed mid-band C-band spectrum. This private 5G network will power advanced industrial use cases like autonomous mobile robots, augmented/virtual reality for training, machine vision for defect detection, IoT sensor monitoring, and other proprietary applications requiring high bandwidth, low latency, and enhanced security.
In parallel, Verizon is deploying its new neutral host network at the facility. As the anchor tenant, Verizon is installing and managing the shared network infrastructure, which can then be accessed by other major U.S. carriers like AT&T and T-Mobile. This allows all 1,500 employees at the plant to benefit from improved public cellular coverage, no matter their mobile provider.
The comprehensive solution taps into Verizon’s broad portfolio of private and public networking capabilities powered by Ericsson’s technology across the full stack. It addresses key challenges around inadequate public cellular coverage, high costs of running ethernet cabling, and enabling new cutting-edge manufacturing use cases.
“These increased capabilities will allow us to implement Industry 4.0 strategies more quickly and reliably,” said Shawn Hricko, Plant Manager at Cummins’ Jamestown plant. “The improved functionality will enable team members to communicate with one another more effectively, allow us to share more data across equipment, and enable our ability to implement mobile industrial robots.”
Cummins’ technology- and innovation-focused approach to doing business allows them to get the most out of this dynamic Neutral Host and Private 5G combination,” said Jennifer Artley, SVP of 5G Acceleration at Verizon Business. “It’s a truly holistic solution.”
Analysts see the deal as validating Verizon’s strategy of bundling public and private cellular services to enterprises. “By offering Neutral Host and Private 5G network capabilities together, Verizon can deliver a solution that supports both multi-carrier public connectivity and specialized private network use cases on a customer’s campus or worksite,” said Brian Partridge, Head of Research at 451 Research.
Manufacturing is the industry most using private network solutions. Other examples include:
