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Subscribe to our FREE weekly email newsletters for the latest telecom info in developing and emerging markets globally.

What is described as a “landmark agreement” will lay the foundation for South Africa’s Gugulethu Colliery, a newly developed mine in Mpumalanga, to integrate 5G technology in its operations.

Mpumalanga is a province in eastern South Africa, bordering Swaziland and Mozambique.

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed in Cape Town between Menar, a private investment company with an actively managed and growing portfolio of diversified minerals, mobile network operator MTN, and technology firm Huawei, will enable implementation of 5G technology at the Gugulethu mine, which is to start producing in early 2024.

Plans under discussion include the possibility of rolling out a three-phased project to install 5G connectivity on the mine campus and shafts among other elements. 

Supported by MTN’s telecommunications expertise and Huawei’s technological infrastructure, the aim is to enhance communication onsite, ensuring people’s safety and well-being, as well as operational efficiency.

As we reported at the time, in December 2022 Canyon Coal’s Phalanndwa Colliery also based in Mpumalanga, signed an agreement that ultimately saw the mine adopting 5G technology. The team at Phalanndwa reportedly registered improvements when it comes to enhanced communication, safety, and real-time monitoring.

The role of 5G in this sector is likely to go on expanding, if comments from Menar’s chief innovation officer Cleavon Moothoosamy are any indication. He says: « We want to be at the forefront of mining innovation, and this partnership is a bold step towards a future where technology and connectivity redefine the mining landscape.”

Press Release

Telxius, the leading global connectivity provider, is joining the Firmina subsea cable system. Firmina will connect the East Coast of the USA to Las Toninas (Argentina), with additional landings in Praia Grande (Brazil) and Punta del Este (Uruguay). Telxius will subsequently host Firmina in its Santos digital hub in Brazil.

Telxius customers will benefit from three redundant routes between the US and Brazil (Firmina, Brusa, SAm-1) as well as three redundant routes extending to Argentina (Firmina, Tannat, SAm-1). These routes bolster the Telxius network’s resilience, ensuring robust and low-latency connectivity spanning the Americas. Together, these network routes will increase international connectivity and are expected to boost the digital economy, opening new opportunities for businesses.

“We are excited about joining Firmina which demonstrates our commitment to delivering low latency, enhanced diversity and high-capacity networking across the Americas for our customers and partners. In today’s rapidly evolving business landscape, we believe in the continuous growth of our international submarine cable network to create major business opportunities for all of us involved. We are also thrilled to announce the expansion of our collaboration with Google and confirm our shared mission to jointly invest in internet infrastructure”, said Mario Martín, CEO at Telxius.

The Telxius network has been designed to connect the main digital data hubs on both sides of the Atlantic with a multiterabit, robust set of next-generation subsea cables fully serving the Americas and Europe while enhancing Telxius traditional routes. The Telxius network spans over 100,000 km of submarine and terrestrial fiber, including eight next-generation subsea systems: Marea, Brusa, Dunant, Tannat, Junior, Mistral, Tikal, and now Firmina. Telxius also has a Tier-1 international IP network (AS 12956) offering direct Internet connectivity to major carriers and ISPs, with a capacity of more than 20 Tbps plus a wide-ranging portfolio of capacity, colocation and security services across the globe.

The submarine cable landscape is evolving rapidly. Keep up to date with all the action at Submarine Networks EMEA 2024

Also in the news:
Globe Telecom plagued by network battery theft
Digital Infrastructure: Riding the resurgent wave of telecom investment
Boldyn Networks snaps up Cellnex’s private networks business unit 

Converged open-access digital infrastructure company WIOCC Group has launched what it calls “the first truly holistic managed network and infrastructure services company to serve Africa”.

Launched at the ongoing AfricaCom event in Cape Town, the new company, Open Access Technical Services (OATS) enables carriers, operators, hyperscalers, major enterprises and governments to outsource the building, management, operation and support of their digital network and infrastructure in Africa to a company with the experience, expertise and local licenced entities to meet their requirements.

In the field of logistics OATS can provide expert support for CDNs (content delivery network operators) and multinationals wanting to establish or expand their footprint in Africa.

For CDNs, carriers and hyperscalers that require connectivity or fibre pairs, OATS can terminate capacity and manage the infrastructure at the cable landing station (CLS), power feeding equipment (PFE) hub or in a carrier-neutral data centre.

OATS can also support services such as backhaul and licence termination, as well as providing comprehensive, expert field service support, while CDNs, carriers and hyperscalers with terrestrial dark fibre management requirements can take advantage of the dark fibre economics with managed capacity expertise from OATS.

In addition, for providers who own a percentage share of spectrum on fibre, OATS can oversee spectrum management and provide a comprehensive solution that encompasses the design, operation and support of core infrastructure.

OATS can also provide an outsourced managed network and operations centres (NOC) service.

As well as OATS, WIOCC Group is the parent company of WIOCC, described as Africa’s digital backbone, and Open Access Data Centres (OADC), Africa’s fastest-growing data centre company.

Insight 

Huawei and China Unicom, one of China’s largest mobile operators, have recently entered into a partnership to deploy a 5G Advanced on production line at Exquisite Automotive Systems (EA), a Chinese car manufacturer, to help improve their workplace efficiency

EA is a subsidiary of Great Wall Motors, and is responsible for the development of intelligent equipment and the design and integration of automated production lines for Great Wall Motors and other car companies. It has an annual turnover of around CNY 2 billion (£225 million).

At the Great Wall Motors factory 5G advanced equipment was set up on the car roof production line.

Normally, the line requires a wired network to connect and control the terminal equipment, such as the robotic arms, slide units and swivelling tables. Due to their intensive usage, these wires can often get worn down, which results in the interruption of production, with an average outage time of 60 hours per year.

The introduction of a 5G advanced network provides the line with a very low latency and highly reliable network that can combat issues that a traditionally wired production line faces, as the constraints of wires are eliminated.

“Digitalisation is a must for the transformation and upgrade of manufacturing enterprises. 5G-Advanced features ultra-high reliability, low latency, and easy deployment,” said, Yuan Zhanjiang, Deputy General Manager of the EA Industry Intelligence Department in a press conference.

“These features have been verified in EA’s 5G-Advanced industrial Internet lab, and will soon start supporting our commercial production lines.”

“We are working with all industry partners to build a 5G-powered industrial Internet that will help enterprises address pain points during their transformations, and ultimately facilitate upgrades to smart manufacturing,” said Fan Ji’an, Chief Big Data Scientist of China Unicom.

He also noted that more and more 5G advanced applications are implemented in these key scenarios, which is driving the manufacturing system further towards digitalisation. In turn, this creates a more efficient factory allowing for increases in productivity and potential profits. Fan added that together with Huawei China Unicom want to “begin a new chapter in China’s modernisation journey.”

5G advanced is well on the way to be deployed globally, such that 2024 will mark the first year of 5G-Advanced’s commercial use. At the Mobile Broadband Forum held in Dubai last month, 13 global operators (including China Unicom) launched the first wave of 5G-Advanced networks, marking the transition of 5G-Advanced from technical verification to commercial deployment.

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Read more about 5G advanced here:
Ensuring the future of 5G development for its continuous success
Industry mulls strategy to unleash the potential of 5G at Global Mobile Broadband Forum 2023
Why the industry must accelerate the adoption of 5.5G