Verizon Business and Cummins announced they have signed an agreement to deploy Verizon’s latest Neutral Host Network products at Cummins’ Jamestown Engine Plant (JEP) in Lakewood, New York.
The agreement combines a neutral host network with the Verizon private 5G network to cover different use cases of public and private networks at the JEP site. Cummins believes the network’s technical capabilities are essential to enhancing operations across the site and further improving the already best-in-class quality of the engines it produces for its customers.
Cummins can use the neutral host network to connect phones and tablets to the public networks of all major U.S. carriers that have opted in to participate in the neutral host network, and can use Verizon’s private 5G network on licensed spectrum for business-critical applications that require increased on-site security and capabilities.
The integrated network implementation will provide mobile connectivity to the facility’s 1 million square feet of industrial space, 1 million square feet of outdoor space and the 1,500 employees who work at the facility to produce approximately 500 heavy truck engines each day. Ericsson is Verizon Business’ sole platform provider for the network build.
The Verizon Neutral Host Network will provide employees and visitors with an enhanced mobile signal on the factory grounds, and the Verizon Private 5G Network will help transform facilities to accommodate additional industrial use cases, now or as needed in the future. These applications include autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) for material handling and transportation, computer vision for defect detection, AR/VR for training and troubleshooting, sensors to monitor machine health and unique applications to manage safe on-site operations.
Private 5G cellular connectivity helps improve Mobile A’s performance by providing consistent signal strength across the site. Additionally, using machine condition monitoring sensors on a private 5G network eliminates the need to run Ethernet infrastructure cabling over long distances, enabling Cummins to realize significant cost savings.
Sean Fricko, plant manager at Cummins Jamestown Engine Plant
I am excited about the potential that JEP’s neutral host and private 5G network will provide to expand communications using wireless technology. These enhancements will enable us to implement our Industry 4.0 strategy more quickly and reliably. The enhancements will enable team members to communicate with each other more effectively, share more data between equipment, and enable the implementation of Mobile Industrial Robotics (MIR). These improvements will help us produce engines safer, more efficiently, and with improved quality. This is a win for Cummins and the customers who rely on our products every day.
Ron Fleetwood, Executive Director, Cummins IT Business Services
“The deployment of a private 5G network at our Jamestown facility is exciting as we evaluate new digital capabilities that will transform our manufacturing operations and create a world-class work environment for our employees. This marks another milestone in our digital manufacturing journey and will enable us to validate private cellular at additional sites in the future, accelerating our i4.0 use cases at Jamestown in the near term.”
Jennifer Artley, Senior Vice President of 5G Acceleration, Verizon Business
Cummins’ technology- and innovation-driven business approach allows the company to make the most of this dynamic neutral host and private 5G combination. The solution covers all the connectivity bases, and its efficient architecture makes it cost-effective, easy to maintain, and easy to add to as operations grow and evolve. Plus, employees and onsite guests can maintain their regular cellular connectivity without any hassle or extra steps. It’s a truly comprehensive solution.
Brian Partridge, head of research at 451 Research, a division of S&P Global Market Intelligence
By offering both neutral hosted and private 5G network capabilities simultaneously, Verizon can provide a solution that supports both multi-carrier public connectivity and specialized private network use cases on customer campuses and workplaces. The network types share common elements, streamlining implementation and covering both public and private use cases.
