Telecom gear maker HFCL on Thursday said it has partnered with Microsoft to offer private 5G solutions to enterprises. The company has started a pilot project for the same using its 5G indoor small cell and Microsoft Azure public architecture at its optical fiber manufacturing plant in Hyderabad. The deployment of the solutions will be primarily used to detect real-time fiber defect using video analytics and image processing.
HFCL will offer converged private 5G solutions that will leverage new-age technologies of IoT (internet of things), cloud, edge computing, artificial intelligence and analytics especially for sectors like manufacturing, retail, warehouse, mining, education, defence, railways, smart city, etc.
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“We are very pleased with our collaboration with Microsoft in implementing the Industry 4.0 solution in our own factory as a pilot program, using Microsoft Azure public MEC (multi-access edge compute). The best practices and the lessons learnt will act as a playbook to deploy Private 5G solutions for manufacturing and other industry verticals embarking on a similar digital transformation journey,” said Mahendra Nahata, managing director at HFCL.
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According to HFCL, Microsoft Azure public MEC provides easy integration with mobile operator’s public 5G network connectivity, analyses video data in real-time to identify any defects and generates insights for root cause analysis and preventive care. Through this AI-enabled, cloud-connected, low-latency private 5G solution, HFCL is improving the operational efficiency and manufacturing agility of its fiber manufacturing plant, it said.