Ericsson and Telia launch Baltics’ first private 5G network

Ericsson has partnered with Telia to integrate a 5G private network into the vendor’s own supply chain in order to demonstrate the capabilities of the technology.

According to Ericsson, the Estonian-based Tallinn Supply Site is a strategic part of its global supply chain footprint, accounting for nearly half of its new product introductions.

Ericsson is building a private 5G network at the site – a wireless network technology that delivers cellular connectivity for private use cases – which it claims will digitally transform the factory’s business operations and foster innovation.

According to Ericsson, its 5G private network offers reliability, predictable latency, security and speed, enabling a variety of use cases such as asset condition monitoring and management, computer vision, digital twins and collaborative robotics.

The telco also claims the network will also power newly-released features such as its 5G precise indoor positioning tool which offers precise indoor asset tracking.

The private cellular network went live on 2 May and country manager of Ericsson Estonia Sirli Männiksaar said the new network was already started having an impact at the supply site, elevating business-critical operations through automation and safety.

The telco also claimed that other advantages were a reduced dependency on wires, to improve the agility of a production layout and design, and the enhanced mobility of other ‘impactful’ factory solutons such as automated guided vehicles.

“It’s enabling the monitoring and management of numerous devices in a defined area, providing better coverage with less infrastructure and also ensuring seamless connectivity through a rapid increase in wireless sensors on the shop floor,” Männiksaar added.

Ericsson’s long-term partnership with Swedish telco Telia – which also operates in other Baltic markets including Estonia – enables the former to reach businesses in the Estonian market.

Andre Visse, CTO of Telia Estonia, confirmed: “In cooperation with Ericsson, we have always been the first to open new generation mobile networks in Estonia, from the very first 1G to the latest 5G generation. We are very happy that we can now jointly contribute to the establishment of the first 5G private networks.”