HFCL announced on March 8 that it is deploying an Industry 4.0 Private 5G solution at its optical fiber manufacturing plant in Hyderabad.

With a rise rollout of 5G in India, enterprises are looking at 5G technology to upscale their digital transformation. GSA reports that 41 percent of private networks being deployed by enterprises are private 5G networks that enable deployment of high-performing infrastructure like robotics, drones, sensor-based and AI-based automation to boost their connectivity, productivity and operational flexibility.

HFCL has collaborated with Microsoft to create converged private 5G solutions that harness technologies of IoT, Cloud, edge computing, AI and Analytics to transform industry verticals that include manufacturing, retail and warehouse, mining, education, defense, railways, smart city.

The firm is deploying one such Private 5G-enabled Industry 4.0 solution as a pilot programme using Microsoft Azure public MEC 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-optimized Azure services with the mobile operator’s public 5G network connectivity, analyses video data in real-time to identify any defects and generates insights for root cause analysis and preventive care.

Also Read | Reliance Jio to bring 5G to every Indian by December 2023: Akash Ambani

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

"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,” said Mahendra Nahata, Managing Director at HFCL.

“HFCL can now leverage Azure compute, storage, networking, and AI capabilities for a comprehensive portfolio of private 5G use-cases across industry verticals,” says Samik Roy, Executive Director, Corporate, Medium, Small Business, Microsoft India.

Also Read | Siemens launches industrial 5G routers in India

HFCL is also using Azure for its Rise with SAP project. Furthermore, HFCL has deployed its Cloud Network Management System (CNMS) on Azure to provide centralised visibility and control of its IO portfolio of communication products.

Catch the latest stock market updates with CNBCTV18.com's blog