Vodafone has launched a major new project in which the company’s team at the Malaga hub has had a key design and development role. The MPN 2.0 solution, named after the acronym for mobile private networks, is intended for use in industrial environments. The aim is to provide a more effective response to the needs of Industry 4.0 in terms of connectivity, cybersecurity and digitisation of industrial activity.

Mobile private networks help businesses to connect people and objects with 4G and 5G technologies. Compared to conventional networks, they offer a highly reliable service, superior security and speed and lower latency. They are key tools for developing other technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), virtual reality and big data.

A decisive impact
Among the over 300 specialist engineers at the Vodafone Innovation Hub in Malaga, technical experts in mobile and fixed networks, security, virtualisation and cloud computing were responsible for managing the new solution from start to finish. Several MPN architecture, development engineering, deployment and operation teams from this centre collaborated with experts from other countries to bring this tool to market.

The Managing Director of Vodafone Business Spain, Daniel Jiménez, said that “this technology will have a decisive impact on application areas and sectors with great potential for digitisation, hand in hand with the development of other technological patents, such as big data, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT). It is particularly suitable for use in manufacturing to achieve more secure and reliable communications.”

Top software engineers
As Jaime Díez, Global Head of Cloud Edge and Mobile Private Networks Engineering for the British company, explained, “The Vodafone Business Engineering Team based at our Innovation Hub in Malaga is fortunate to have some of the top software engineers in the industry, specialising in 5G, mobile networks and edge computing. This team is researching and developing the technology and services that will have the biggest impact on industries critical to our future.”

The company provides practical examples of how to use the new solution, such as the possibility of issuing workers in industrial environments with fall detectors or emergency buttons, connecting them safely to their operations centres or even receiving remote assistance when operating machinery. In addition to dedicated solutions with an infrastructure for the customer’s exclusive use, Vodafone offers hybrid solutions that combine private and public infrastructure.

^{Photo: Vodafone}