John Deere has deployed private 5G for a couple of months in Davenport
5G is being deployed as the factory replans new areas in the plant
It is following the 80-10-10 rule for 5G connectivity - 80% private 5G, 10% Wi-Fi and 10% wired Ethernet
JOHN DEERE, DAVENPORT, IOWA – Self-described smart industrial manufacturer John Deere is making its move to roll out private 5G in its Davenport Works in the Quad Cities.
The factory manager at the Davenport plant Tom Johnson told Fierce Network during a dinner on Thursday evening, “5G has been enabled for a couple of months,” he said of the plant. The factory has deployed Ethernet wired connections and Wi-Fi previously.
“As of Q1, it’s ready to go for any factory replans,” Jason Wallin, principal architect, infrastructure, for John Deere, said during a tour of the company's plant on Thursday morning. He said that the firm is using Nokia 5G radios to cover the huge factory.
Specs wise, the Davenport factory is 50 acres under the roof. That equates to 34 American football fields.
The manufacturer is using leased CBRS spectrum (3550 MHz to 3700 MHz) to run the network. Wallin told me at dinner that the company had been talking with startups as well as working with Nokia. He wouldn’t, however, name the startups yet.
The company is planning to eventually deploy 80% private 5G, 10% Wi-Fi and 10% wired Ethernet connections at Davenport.