Ericsson, partners launch Ireland’s first indoor 5G network to boost manufacturing

The network will bring enhanced indoor 5G coverage, low latency connectivity and improved data security across Glanbia's largest Irish plant, allowing the company to trial augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) applications, and test how 5G can provide enhanced connectivity solutions for their wider production facilities.

Ericsson has partnered with Three Ireland and Glanbia Ireland to launch Ireland's first indoor 5G campus network. The new 5G network inside the multi-purpose dairy processing plant at Glanbia's facility in Ballyragget, County Kilkenny, is the first implementation in a live manufacturing environment in Ireland.

"5G offers the biggest ever potential platform for innovation and this exciting strategic partnership between Three Ireland, Ericsson and Glanbia will unlock the real value of Industry 4.0 for Ireland's manufacturing sector," said John Griffin, CEO, Ericsson Ireland.

"From enabling true digital transformation to helping boost productivity and creating operational efficiencies, 5G can provide the foundation for Ireland to revolutionise critical industries and lead the way for future innovation and economic growth," Griffin further added.

The network will bring enhanced indoor 5G coverage, low latency connectivity and improved data security across Glanbia's largest Irish plant, allowing the company to trial augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) applications, and test how 5G can provide enhanced connectivity solutions for their wider production facilities.

The 5G network solution will enable faster and more accurate maintenance tasks and provide for a richer analysis of plant processes to boost manufacturing efficiency, the companies said in separate statements on Wednesday.

"We're delighted to be involved in this ground-breaking initiative with Three Ireland and Ericsson. It's allowing us to bring to life some of the early learnings from our participation in an EU funded Horizon 2020 5G project," said Brian Farrell, Engineering Manager at Glanbia Ireland, Ballyragget.

The partnership will see Ericsson's Radio Dot System providing 5G radio coverage by utilising Three Ireland's 5G spectrum. The system features an elegant design, both in the product and the network architecture, enabling a simple deployment that is 100% integrated with the outdoor network.

Ericsson and Three Ireland are already working together to develop next-generation 5G consumer use cases via the global Ericsson Startup 5G program.