Capitalizing On 5G Innovation To Deliver Breakthroughs At The Edge

Small- and mid-size enterprises (SMEs) face challenges as they undertake digital transformation initiatives and try to capitalize on cutting edge 5G services. Wireless networks play a pivotal role in establishing these new innovations, particularly in the manufacturing sector. Edge computing offers the capacity, resource utilization and high performance that 5G applications and solutions require.

Specifically, 5G base stations provide the necessary compute power to reduce device latencies and ensure consistent resource availability. In this article, we look at the award-winning, breakthrough technology of NodeEngine, and how one company deployed the solution to streamline and scale its manufacturing processes to meet current and future demand.

Accelerate service operations at the edge

Edge computing eliminates the processing delays typical of traditional networks by processing data at the network’s periphery using 5G base stations. For example, the edge eliminates latencies associated with relaying information to a data center while enhancing overall scalability and improving resource utilization.

Capitalizing on the wireless network model, ZTE NodeEngine represents a plug-and-play, edge computing platform deployed from within a 5G base station for real-time processing of business data, offering both low cost and reduced energy consumption. The technology eliminates the need for expensive 5G peripherals, such as equipment rooms, power supplies, transmission links, and other auxiliaries.

The Leading Lights Award sponsored by Light Reading, the B2B digital media platform, recognizes new innovations as well as the technical and market achievements of the evolving global communications industry, particularly for SMEs. The platform recognized ZTE Corporation with the Leading Lights 2022 “Outstanding Use Case: Edge Computing” Award for NodeEngine citing its low latency capability for streaming, efficient quality management and all-round improvement of service capabilities.

As a result of the technology, cost-sensitive SMEs gain an economical way to increase their operational efficiency while reducing OPEX related to hardware, operations and maintenance. Essentially, they can replace their traditional private networks and rely on NodeEngine to ensure seamless 5G connectivity and high availability for all their processes. Moreover, these companies gain the benefits of advanced industrial applications at a lower cost with reduced energy consumption.

Apart from key reasons of winning this award, we’d like to provide some background information for your better understanding of this use case.

Taking 5G further with NodeEngine

As one of the top manufacturers in their market segment, Zhejiang Hotel Star Co., Ltd. is a mid-sized enterprise that produces corrugated cartons. The company needed to replace its traditional private networks and connect all processes and equipment to increase production and prepare for future expansion. It adopted NodeEngine to digitally transform and power industrial applications for scheduling, production, quality inspection and transportation.

For example, Hotel Star employed NodeEngine’s intelligent operation to connect more than 100 industrial terminals as well as reduce operational complexity and management costs for manufacturing features, such as robots, data collection, machine vision, automated guided vehicles (AGV) and geofencing. The capability of offering edge computing via a small board inside the factory’s serving 5G base station makes all these applications easy to implement and to manage.

As an internationally recognized leader in telecommunications and information technology, ZTE is dedicated to extending the market competitiveness of SMEs and guaranteeing sustainable, longterm development. In addition to Hotel Star, ZTE NodeEngine has been widely used in more than 130 projects across 10 industries, including smart mining, smart manufacturing, smart entertainment and smart healthcare.

It has achieved excellent results in the Jiangsu SANY Factory, Anhui Guqiao Coal Mine, and Beijing Sky Limit Entertainment, earning credibility from industry customers and operators alike. ZTE is committed to product quality, advanced technical breakthrough and seamless user experiences that are quickly becoming the standards for 5G integration and innovation.

This content is sponsored by ZTE.