HFCL teams up with Microsoft to roll out pvt 5G solutions for enterprises

Domestic telecom gear maker HFCL said it has collaborated with Microsoft to roll out private 5G solutions for enterprises, as businesses eye the next gen technology to spur digital transformation

Domestic telecom gear maker HFCL on Thursday said it has collaborated with Microsoft to roll out private 5G solutions for enterprises, as businesses eye the next generation technology to spur digital transformation.

With the rapid rollout of 5G in India, enterprises are looking at the next generation technology to further their digital transformation, including the promise of Industry 4.0, HFCL said in a statement.

"HFCL has collaborated with Microsoft to create converged private 5G solutions that harness new-age technologies of IoT (Internet of Things), cloud, edge computing, AI (Artificial Intelligence) and analytics to transform industry verticals that include manufacturing, retail and warehouse, mining, education, defence, railways, smart city," it said.

HFCL is deploying one such private 5G-enabled Industry 4.0 solution as a pilot programme using Microsoft Azure public MEC (multi-access edge compute) and HFCL 5G Indoor Small Cell, at its optical fiber manufacturing plant in Hyderabad.

Along the fiber production line, HFCL's 5G small cells enable real-time fiber defect detection using video analytics and image processing.

Microsoft Azure public MEC, which integrates Azure compute and edge-optimised Azure services with the mobile operator's public 5G network connectivity, analyses this video data in real-time to identify any defects and generates insights for root cause analysis and preventive care.

Through this AI-enabled, cloud-connected, low-latency private 5G solution, HFCL is improving the operational efficiency and manufacturing agility of its fiber manufacturing plant.

Mahendra Nahata, Managing Director of HFCL, said, "We are very pleased with our collaboration with Microsoft in implementing Industry 4.0 solution in our own factory as a pilot programme, using Microsoft Azure public MEC."

The best practices and the lessons learnt will act as a playbook to deploy private 5G solutions for manufacturing and other industry verticals embarking on a similar digital transformation journey, Nahata said.