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The offerings will reportedly include 5g-powered robots, drones, and remote assistance equipment powered by a standalone (SA) 5G network
Beginning in January 2022, Telefonica will begin offering a range of industrial 5G services to industrial partners for the first time.
This is quite a milestone in the journey of 5G. Until now, numerous operators throughout Europe have been conducting various tests for 5G use cases, but barely any have announced the launch of commercial services.
Telefonica itself has tested nearly 80 use cases across various sectors in recent years, a number of which are now ready to go to market.
More specifically, Telefonica, via its Telefonica Tech unit, will move to commercialise three specific 5G use cases for industry: autonomously guided vehicles (ATGs), remote assistance solutions, and drone solutions.
These three use cases should require little explanation, having been a central focus of 5G use cases not only by Telefonica but by other operators around the world.
ATGs, connected to an IoT visualisation and route planning platform, will be able to perform repetitive tasks and journeys without human intervention, greatly increasing industrial site efficiency.
Remote assistance solutions will allow industrial staff to monitor and interact with the industrial environment remotely, potentially via augmented reality, again increasing efficiency, as well as increasing operational safety.
Finally, unmanned drones will be used to carry out site inspections and increase security.
All of these services will be available for customers to access via Telefonica’s public mobile network, or alternatively via a virtual or dedicated private network. These three services can function on non-standalone 5G architecture but will be improved by access to SA 5G.
Telefonica will begin the deployment of 5G SA in Spain next year, using the 700MHz spectrum that it acquired in the government auction earlier this year.
In its announcement, Telefonica claims that 40% of Spain’s industrial sector will require 5G connectivity and speeds of up to 10Gbps over the next five years, as well as potentially connecting up to a million devices per square kilometre to the network.
In related news, Telefonica Tech today announced that is working with shipbuilder Navantia to develop a reinforced cybersecurity system for the S-80 class submarines in close collaboration with the Spanish Ministry of Defence. The move builds on an initial agreement signed by the pair back in March 2020.
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