Tag Archives: Alex Salgado

Vale and Vivo extend reach of 4G across Carajás Railroad

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Vale has started to implement, in partnership with Vivo, an unprecedented technology infrastructure to extend the reach of the 4G internet signal along the Carajás Railroad, which connects the states of Maranhão and Pará, covering 28 cities in Brazil.

The initiative includes the installation of 49 new telephone towers and the activation of the signal on another 27 towers already installed, as well as the acquisition and installation of new equipment. The investment, worth around BRL240 million ($50 million), should be completed by 2025 and will benefit communities close to the railroad and the railroad operation, as well as improving connectivity on the Passenger Train.

Eduardo Bartolomeo, Vale’s CEO, said: “This initiative is in line with our commitment to invest in projects of shared value with society. It meets not only Vale’s needs – modernizing the technology used to exchange data during the movement of trains – but also those of the communities, with the provision of a 4G signal along the entire route of the Carajás Railroad, and also the users of the Passenger Train, improving connectivity during the journey.”

Alex Salgado, VP of Business at Vivo, said: “Our private network project plays a leading role in the materialisation of initiatives that accelerate industrial digitalisation, leveraging technologies such as IoT, big data, artificial intelligence and analytics within the operation, transforming data into intelligence, ensuring greater safety, cost reduction and efficiency gains. And in addition to technological advances within Vale’s railroad operation, the companies will go further and share with the population the benefits of excellent connectivity in all the municipalities close to the railroad.”

The new 4G-based private network infrastructure will bring more security and efficiency to the operation of the Carajás Railroad, which is already considered the safest railroad in Brazil by the National Land Transport Agency, Vale says. All communication on the railroad will be changed from analogue to digital, speeding up access to data generated by the trains and making it possible to implement even more innovative systems in the future.

The railroad will have real-time video transmission, giving the driver greater visibility of what is happening on all sections of the track. Information generated by telemetry on the train’s performance will also be available in real time along the entire length of the railroad. In addition, cell phone communication between employees will be more stable.

The investment in the railroad is part of an initiative started in 2019, when Vale signed the first contract with Vivo to install a private 4G network in its operations.

Paulo Pires, Chief Technology Officer, said: “Since 2019, this network has already been deployed in Carajás, where it enables the operation of 22 pieces of autonomous equipment, including haul trucks and drilling rigs, and in Itabira, where it supports dam monitoring.”

A significant social impact of this technology project is the provision of free internet access points along the railroad, in high-traffic locations such as hospitals, schools and community centers. Vale’s teams have already started dialoguing with leaders and representatives of public authorities to determine which locations will benefit. There will be around 280 access points.

In addition, by the end of 2024, all 15 passenger stations along the Carajás Railroad will have a free internet signal for users.

Vale and Vivo sign 4G/LTE deal to bolster mine site automation

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Vale says it has signed an agreement with Vivo (Telefônica Brasil) to implement a private 4G/LTE network at its operations in Brazil.

The network will help the miner optimise its use of autonomous equipment, which requires a wide coverage area and high traffic capacity for a significant amount of data. Almost R$21 million ($5 million) will be invested in this project, Vale said.

This will make Vale and Vivo the first companies to deploy a private LTE network with these characteristics in the country, according to Vale.

From the first half of 2020, the network will be available at Carajás (Pará) mine, where three autonomous drills are already operating and autonomous trucks will be adopted soon. Then, this innovation will be applied at Brucutu mine (pictured), in São Gonçalo do Rio Abaixo (Minas Gerais), where 13 autonomous trucks operate. This network also has the potential to be used to connect dam monitoring instruments, the company said.

Vale said of the network: “It will boost Vale’s autonomous vehicles program, which aims to increase safety by removing employees from the risk area. Autonomous equipment also generates operational efficiency and sustainability gains increasing equipment useful life by almost 15% and reducing fuel consumption and maintenance costs by almost 10%.”

Vivo’s solution was chosen due to its reliability and experience in private LTE networks, Vale said. Safety and the possibility of converging different types of traffic on the same network – such as data, voice, and video – were also considered. At Brucutu mine, for example, the autonomous trucks currently operating on a WiMax network, which will be migrated to the new network in the future.

Gustavo Vieira, Vale’s IT director, said: “In addition to the benefits regarding data volume and coverage, the use of LTE is also an important investment due to it is scalability; all mobile phone technology development must comply with this standard from now on. Fourth generation is already being used; thus, technology upgrades will cost less than those for technologies that are not commonly used.”

Alex Salgado, Vivo B2B vice president, said a private LTE solution meets specific needs of businesses while meeting the requirements of mission-critical applications that demand “high safety, mobility in production lines, free-interference spectrum, and traffic prioritisation, as well as connecting a high volume of IoT devices in an open and widely available ecosystem”.

The partnership will enable Vale to use Vivo’s services in these regions. Vivo will also provide 4G coverage, which will help communication among employees of the mine operations.

In Latin America, this partnership model is only currently available in Chile, which is being tested. Vale also uses private 4G/LTE networks in its operations in Canada and Malaysia, it said.