Like many industrial businesses, Wuhan Iron and Steel Corporation (WISCO) can find it difficult to recruit employees to work in its hot and dusty plants. Potential applicants can be deterred by safety risks, such as those presented by falling objects and burns.

One solution is greater digitisation and automation, which requires ultra-reliable and ultra-responsive connectivity. To that end, WISCO has deployed a dual frequency, dual layer 5G network to dramatically improve efficiency and safety at its vast industrial campus in Wuhan, China.

Supplied by ZTE and China Unicom, the 5G network uses both the 2.1 GHz and 3.5 GHz frequency bands to provide two independent communications paths to cameras and PLC (programmable logic controller) systems on the site’s unmanned cranes, vehicles, locomotives, wagons and containers, which are used to transport iron-ore over a distance of 10 km within the complex, which spans 47 square kilometres.