Nokia and Kyndryl extend partnership to develop private LTE, 5G for industry 4.0

Nokia and Kyndryl have announced a three-year extension to their global edge partnership, focusing on industry 4.0 the development of LTE and 5G private wireless networks.

Since the companies joined forces, they have established more than 100 'engagements' with companies around the world. The nature of these engagements has ranged from the initial advisory and testing stages to the full implementation of solutions.

Around 90% of these have been with companies in the industrial manufacturing sector, including energy, mining, and petrochemical firms.

Kyndryl and Nokia aim to expand the adoption of leading-edge technologies in this sector and others, with Nokia Digital Automation Cloud (DAC) platform enabling quick and widespread adoption of wireless assets.

The companies have also committed to the launch of a lab in Raleigh, North Carolina alongside cyber security firm Palo Alto Networks. This will seek to develop auditable wireless networks with the advanced security capabilities necessary for critical industrial networks.

Kyndryl and Nokia cited their implementation of a private wireless network with edge computing at Dow Chemical’s petrochemical processing plant in Freeport, Texas.

Dow Chemical, one of the world’s largest chemical producers, worked with Kyndryl and Nokia to improve safety and efficiency across the site.

In 12 months, the companies have established a private LTE network that covers the entire complex, with a zero trust and containerised solution for the management of security profiles.

Site operators and engineers can now communicate in real time and make use of vehicle telematics, video and audio feeds, and tracking for increased safety.

The two companies first announced their edge computing partnership in February 2022, with an aim to digitalise enterprises and tap into the $510 billion (£417.9 billion) industry 4.0 market.

“Kyndryl and Nokia have a shared vision for digital transformation, and as leaders in our respective industries we are driven to grow this market together,” said Chris Johnson, head of Nokia's global enterprise business.

"We are excited to build upon our existing success and strengthen our alliance targeting more enterprise customers across multiple industries.

“The two companies are currently exploring and developing new, integrated solutions and services for edge, cloud, IP networking, optics, fixed access, 4G, and 5G core and network operations software technologies, which can address the growing demand for mission-critical, industrial-grade wireless networking.”

A study by Grand View Research projected that the private 5G network market will grow to $41 billion (£33.6 billion) by 2030, driven in part by massive investments made by the industrial manufacturing sector.

The benefits that private 5G networks can bring to the transportation and logistics industry are also expected to accelerate adoption of the technology.

5G private networks and edge networks have a clear role to play in advancing the ‘smart ports’. Already, sites such as the Felixstowe Port in Suffolk have adopted 5G networks to more efficiently process data, and enable the widespread use of internet of things (IoT) devices.