Today the 5G Alliance for Connected Industries and Automation (5G-ACIA) and the Alliance of Industrial Internet (AII) announced the joint launch of two groundbreaking testbeds, marking a significant step forward in the global deployment and adoption of Industrial 5G technologies in real-world production facilities. These testbeds will particularly focus on the following aspects:
- The first testbed developed by China Telecom and Ailink in collaboration with Schneider Electric will explore and demonstrate the usage of 5G for realizing centralized programmable logic controllers (PLC) and offering narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) services on the shopfloor.
- The second testbed driven by China Mobile and Huawei in partnership with Haier aims to demonstrate novel features called “Ambient IoT”, which are currently being discussed as part of the standardization of 5G-Advanced. “Ambient IoT” may enable RFID-like connectivity, but fully integrated into the 5G system so that no separate RFID readers are needed.
- These newly established testbeds are part of a series of joint activities between 5G-ACIA and AII for driving and promoting the further adoption of 5G in the manufacturing industry, which started with the signing of a mutual Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) back in 2020.
“Advancing the Industrial 5G ecosystem”
“5G-ACIA is thrilled to be back in China after our last meeting in Shanghai in 2019,” said Dr. Andreas Mueller (Bosch), General Chair of 5G-ACIA. “As a global manufacturing powerhouse and a leader in the ICT industry, China is a critical market for Industrial 5G. We are eager to collaborate closely with AII and their members to unlock the full potential of Industrial 5G and transition it from theory to practice. These two new testbeds are a significant milestone in this journey and will play a crucial role in further advancing the Industrial 5G ecosystem.”
“Welcome 5G-ACIA to Beijing, having more in-depth communication with China’s ‘5G+Industrial Internet’ ecosystem once again” said Mr. Xiaohui Yu, President of CAICT, and also Chairman of AII. “5G-ACIA gets key OT and ICT vendors together and has produced many excellent research results on the requirements, technologies, and solutions of Industrial 5G. AII has established a relatively comprehensive Industrial Internet ecosystem, promoting cutting-edge exploration and practice in the field of Industrial 5G. The joint testbed project kicks a good start to deepen our collaboration. Next, we hope to collaborate closely with 5G-ACIA to explore new scenarios and technologies, generate research results to contribute to standardization organizations, and build a global Industrial 5G ecosystem together.”
Further Information
The 5G Alliance for Connected Industries and Automation (5G-ACIA) is the central global forum for driving and shaping Industrial 5G. 5G-ACIA members jointly prepare for the disruptive change that 5G will bring, promote a better understanding of industrial needs, and gain insights into a highly attractive emerging market. 5G-ACIA provides a unique platform for OT and ICT companies, academia, and all relevant stakeholders to influence 5G development and deployment, in line with industrial imperatives. The currently more than 100 member organizations make the results of their work directly available to 3GPP, the main standardization body for developing 5G. 5G-ACIA is a market representation partner of 3GPP and has the formal status of a working party of ZVEI – German Electro and Digital Industry Association.