As part of the Manufacturing Summit series within the 2023 Industry City Agenda of Mobile World Congress, a panel entitled “Remote Control – Connecting an Industrial Revolution” featured industry experts who shared their experiences of how private and dedicated networks can solve connectivity solutions and their perspective on how 5G technologies are transforming the industrial sector.
Among the session speakers was Zhiping Chen, VP and GM of branding and PR strategies, ZTE Corporation. When asked by the moderator, Pablo Tomasi, principal analyst, private networks, Omdia, about some of the use cases that Chen sees as driving industry verticals and the results and progress of 5G, she said: “ZTE is a 5G equipment supplier, but now we are also at the forefront of the 5G application areas. At present, we have looked at over 500 global partners in 50 industries, and we have joint innovation in more than 100 application scenarios.”
Chen pointed out that these application scenarios cover all kinds of vertical industries, such as energy and transportation as well as manufacturing. “We are dedicated to truly helping enterprises from manufacturing to [deploy] intelligent manufacturing. For example, in China, we set up 5G intelligent manufacturing bases using a 5G private network to set up secure and high-performance coverage.”
As an example of how customers benefit from their initiatives, ZTE’s 5G cloud AGVs, machine vision and inspection robots successfully achieved an energy output per person of over 100% while making energy savings of almost 40%. These reflect a huge improvement in the manufacturing industry.
But with more obligations, Chen highlighted that they have three main points in mind. “First, we need to carry out in-depth, comprehensive scenario research. Second, we need to strengthen our dedicated professional team, which is powering not just communication. And third, because 5G private networks need some special dedicated equipment, it requires massive investment.”
Having said that, intelligent manufacturing’s huge investment is just a part of digitalization for ZTE, which they refer to as a “CEO project.”
With regards to what could drive 5G success further, Chen stated that it’s a combination of communication with computing, big data and AI.
With ZTE’s experience, Chen emphasized that innovation can bring value to all companies’ verticals, particularly in five areas: cost reduction, quality improvements, efficiency investments, energy savings and safety.
“I think it's long-term work, and that we should work together to get a better future,” concluded Chen.
At MWC 2023, ZTE’s theme focuses on "Shaping Digital Innovation," unveiling an extensive lineup of more efficient, eco-friendly and cutting-edge products and solutions.
