PARTNER FEATURE: Recently, at the press conference of “5G 700MHz Convergent Network of Dahaize Coal Mine”, ZTE assisted Shanxi Yulin Energy & Chemical Industry Co., Ltd. of China Coal Mine Group, China Coal Technology Engineering Group Smart Mining Co., Ltd., China Radio & Television, China Mobile and other partners in deploying the 5G industry core network (i5GC+iIMS), which provides end-to-end 5G VoNR HD video services for Dahaize Coal Mine, and dispatches and directs the coal mine to work safely underground in real time. It realizes the 5G 700M+2.6G convergent networking of the world’s first coal industry. This is the first time that the 5G 700MHz frequency band network is applied in the field of industrial energy. It is of great significance to the intelligent development of coal mines in China.

The Dahaize Coal Mine, which is subordinate to Yulin Energy and Chemical Technology Co., Ltd. of China Coal Mine Group in Shanxi, is one of the first 71 smart demonstration mines in China. It is also an important part to build the Inner Mongolia-Shanxi billion-ton coal base for China Coal Mine Group. It is committed to building a benchmark for 5G smart mines in the coal industry.

Figure 1 Architecture of the 5G Convergent Private Network of Dahaize Coal Mine

This project uses ZTE’s end-to-end 5G convergent private network solution, including the 5G industry core network, wireless equipment, bearer equipment, and mobile terminals. Through the integration of cloud with network and the deployment to the edge, the 5G coal mine network can be localized, data cannot leave the area, and network security can be controlled. The 5G convergent private network provides highly reliable communication for the whole mine, and meets the requirements for high bandwidth, low latency, and ubiquitous communication networks in complex mining environments. With a small footprint, low power consumption, high integration, and integrated O&M, the 5G industry core network is lightweight, greatly reducing the costs of 5G network construction in mines. The i5GC+iIMS network provides the 5G VoNR HD voice and video services for the mine. Through interconnection with the public network IMS, the mine can make seamless voice and video calls with external networks.

Based on the new cloud/network architecture, ZTE provides an end-to-end 5G convergent private network solution to continuously help the mine build a network of “4G, 5G, WiFi, IoT, and industrial Ethernet ring network” above and below coal mines to provide network management and control. This network carries various mining services, assists the mine in fully interconnecting coal mine personnel, equipment, and the environment, and supports Intelligent construction of the entire process including mining, digging, machinery, operation, ventilation, water supply/excavation, energy consumption, washing, selection, and operation management and control.

In the future, ZTE will give full play to its comprehensive advantages in industrial ecology, and science and technology innovation, and work with industrial partners to further promote the in-depth integration of 5G with coal mine safety production by ensuring safe production and cost reduction and increasing efficiency, and contribute to the digital transformation and upgrade of the coal industry and the development of high-quality economy.