ESPOO, Finland -- Nokia and Telefónica Peru have signed a contract with Minera Las Bambas, the world’s ninth largest copper mine, to enable digitalization and automation projects at its site in Apurimac, Peru. The contract will build and deploy a private LTE network 4,600 meters above sea level, then perform an assessment of the mine applications in order to begin services migration to the new network. The contract includes planning the site’s capacity and providing technical support for the next five years.
As part of the deal, Nokia will deploy its LTE Radio Access Network solution, including base stations, technical support and training services to enable more reliable communications between machines and people. The new network will improve existing wireless service, allowing Las Bambas to deploy additional safety solutions and reduce operating costs of its Tetra communication system. As the network evolves further towards 5G, the Las Bambas mine will also benefit from push-to-talk and push-to-video.
Mining operations often require highly reliable networks that can cover large outdoor sites. Complementing services such as Wi-Fi, private wireless solutions offer more secure and reliable wireless coverage. They also enable an evolution of new services in mining, thanks to providing a trustworthy, high-capacity, low-latency and multi-services network that enables connectivity for several thousands of workers, mine devices and applications.
To embrace the Fourth Industrial Revolution, asset-intensive industries such as mining need to digitalize their processes and systems to drive extreme automation. Automation relies on the ability to sense, analyze and act. To do so, these industries will need to connect all sensors, machines and workers in the most flexible way — and for that they need business and mission-critical wireless networking solutions such as private LTE.
Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK)