China’s first private 5G mobile network for mining deployed in Shandong province

The 5G network was independently built and deployed by state-owned Shandong Energy Group Co at its subsidiary Baodian Coal Mine’s operations, according to the company’s website.

That next-generation mobile system delivers faster data transmission inside the mine – reaching less than 20 milliseconds, compared with 3 to 4 seconds on 4G, according to a report over the weekend by state broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV). That difference enables workers to better control the operation of mining equipment deployed hundreds of metres underground, it said.

With peak data rates up to 100 times faster than what current 4G mobile networks provide, 5G has been held up as “the connective tissue” for the Internet of Things, autonomous cars, smart cities and other new mobile applications, establishing the backbone for the industrial internet.

The CCTV report also described the coal mine’s privately built 5G network as “explosion-proof”, compared with the general 5G set-up offered by telecommunications network operators to some coal mining operations. It said the Baodian 5G infrastructure was specifically implemented to resist line failure caused by changes in the underground environment and electromagnetic interference from various electrical equipment used inside the coal mine.

The 5G gear used in the coal mine was from Beidou Tiandi, an equipment maker for smart mining and manufacturing that was founded in 2010, according to CCTV. Beidou Tiandi became part of Shandong Energy Group in August after Yankuang Group, another state-owned coal mining enterprise and the gear maker’s controlling shareholder, merged with Shandong Energy Group.