Gerdau and Embratel announce an agreement for a private 5G network

The project will include the installation of several towers to expand the scope of connectivity and automation possibilities, covering more than 8.3 million m² of the steel producer.

THE Gerdau and the Embratel announced this Friday, July 1, an agreement to implement a 5G and LTE 4G dedicated private network at the Ouro Branco (MG) industrial plant, creating an IT backbone (transport network) for the evolution of the steel mill’s digitalization.

The project developed by Embratel will include the installation of several towers on site to expand the scope of connectivity and automation possibilities, covering more than 8.3 million m² of the steel producer.

According to the companies, this is the first project to use the fifth generation of mobile internet in the steel sector in Latin America. “With the objective of creating a digital infrastructure, the initiative will make it possible to expand the use of Industry 4.0 concepts to leverage automation, productivity, flexibility, visibility, traceability, use of data and security in processes, including planning, production and logistics.

“Over the past few years, we have built our foundations to be increasingly digital. Digital has gone from being something isolated to being part of the business, through the identification of transformational initiatives, in which we allocate resources, technologies and have robust projects that are positively impacting our business. Now, we need to further expand our digital capabilities to enable a fully connected production chain, increasing the plant’s efficiency and productivity”, says Gustavo França, global director of technology and digital at Gerdau.

“In an increasingly competitive scenario in the sector, which requires a continuous search for more operational excellence, digital transformation becomes crucial, for evolution in productivity, people safety and systemic management of our operation”, completes Rafael Gambôa, director of White Gold Plant.

Divided into three phases, the project will begin with the installation of a private LTE 4G network with a total capacity of 256 Mbps. At this stage, the covered area will be larger than the current one, making it possible to increase the scope of Industry 4.0 initiatives already adopted at the unit.

In the second phase, Claro’s 5G will be added, in the 3.5 GHz frequency, to the 4G LTE network. “With 5G and 4G LTE, the plant will have a much higher capacity, totaling 3.8 Gbps. Ultra-low latency will provide more resiliency, availability and security for the location, as critical applications will not have shared infrastructure with the public network”, inform the companies.

The third phase will involve the densification of the private LTE 4G and 5G network to provide even more combined capacity, reaching 4.8 Gbps, and expanding coverage to the entire operational extent of the unit.

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