Russian telecoms major MTS recently deployed a pilot underground LTE network to support mining operations for Russia’s Uralkali, one of the world’s largest producers of potash. MTS stated: “This major milestone is yet another step forward in MTS’s solid track record of deploying advanced B2B solutions together with many of Russia’s leading companies. Looking ahead to the future, private networks in the 5G era promise to further improve industrial productivity by enabling next-generation capabilities for remote monitoring and robotic control.”
The pilot network at the BKPRU-2 mine it says further demonstrates MTS’s competence in providing robust connectivity in some of the world’s toughest operating environments — including subterranean depths of up to 400 m. Featuring Ericsson technology, the new network has “already demonstrated a high degree of stability, reliability, and security.”
As part of the pilot evaluation, the network has successfully carried voice, data, and video streaming communications, as well as connectivity for cutting-edge digital solutions that are aimed at improving productivity as well as ensuring safe working conditions for miners. “Around the world today, dedicated LTE networks are accelerating the digitalisation of industrial facilities by providing low-latency, high-bandwidth connectivity, which serves as the backbone for predictive analytics, remote asset monitoring, and autonomous equipment operation.”
“MTS has extensive experience in leveraging an innovative digital ecosystem to transform business operations, including in Russia’s Perm Region. This project is particularly special for us, because of the distinctive mining environment — both extreme depths and distances — which can exacerbate signal attenuation. To overcome those challenges, our technical team successfully developed a unique integrated solution to provide robust connectivity, which, in the long term, will allow Uralkali employees to work more safely and more efficiently,” said Oksana Kaigorodova, MTS Director for the Perm Region.
“Developing our digital business is one of Uralkali’s strategic priorities. In this respect, we are focusing on cutting-edge innovation, constantly developing and testing new solutions. No communication technology had earlier demonstrated meaningful transmission efficiency in a mine over long distances. The tests that we have carried out have clearly shown that there are solutions that can provide stable, reliable, and safe communication coverage in a potash mining environment. In the long term, advanced technologies will unlock significant opportunities for us to deploy innovative solutions in our operations,” said Dmitry Ivanov, Uralkali Deputy Technical Director for Industrial Asset Management.
