MTS has launched 5G-ready private cellular LTE network for Polymetal, one of the world’s largest producers of gold and silver, at the Nezhdaninskoye gold deposit in Russia’s Sakha Republic (Yakutia).

MTS has deployed a 5G-ready wireless network for Yuzhno-Verkhoyansk Mining Company, an affiliated company of Polymetal. The new network will support mining dispatching systems, such as remote and automated control of equipment including excavators, drilling rigs, and measuring devices, as well as remote monitoring and video systems.

During the initial stage, the Ericsson-powered network will operate under the LTE standard, with the follow-on potential for a seamless, rapid upgrade to 5G connectivity at some point in the future.

The network is built on top of the Ericsson Dedicated Networks solution, which complies with the 3GPP standards and includes a full-fledged carrier-grade network core. It supports 4G and 5G Non-Standalone (NSA) simultaneously and allows dual-mode core capability to support 5G New Radio Standalone (5G NR SA).

“MTS is among the first operators in Russia to carry out private LTE and 5G-ready pilot projects with leading Russian enterprises across multiple industries,” said Georgy Dzhabiev, MTS Director of Digital Solutions.

“The system is showing its effectiveness and is ready to move to the next stage of introducing innovative technologies in production. The private 5G-ready network will significantly increase the speed of transferring large amounts of data and reduce the cost of maintaining the technological network,” said Alexander Laguta, Head of the Information Technology and Communications Department at the Yakutsk branch of Polymetal.

“Private networks are the backbone of critical communications infrastructure and the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), not only in mining, but also in other industries with a high demand for seamless coverage, performance, security and reliability while supporting mission-critical business processes in a new digital reality,” Alexander Romanov, Head of Private Networks, Ericsson Russia, said.

During the next stages of the project, the companies plan to deploy a dispatch radio communication system over LTE based on MC-PTT (Mission Critical Push-to-Talk), including integration with site’s internal telephone network.