Speedcast, a leading communications and IT services provider, announced today that its Brazilian entity, SC Caprock, has completed the deployment of a mission-critical private LTE network at four natural gas plants and associated wells for an energy integrator in Brazil, providing high-quality, critical voice and video connectivity for workers on site. This marks the first energy company with onshore production to implement the technology in Brazil.

Using the Nokia Digital Automation Cloud (DAC) solution, SC Caprock has deployed LTE access points covering the facilities using Band 28 at 700 MHz. Smartphones offer push-to-talk and push-to-video communications that enable instant connectivity and the ability to share video streams with colleagues to enhance collaboration and facilitate rapid problem-solving. The integration includes the installation of private LTE base stations, and the Nokia MX Industrial Edge (MXIE), an edge computing-based platform which runs the private wireless core functions and application processing, including the Push-to-X communications applications. In addition to systems integration, SC Caprock manages regulatory approval and provides 24×7 customer support.

“The unique value of the Nokia Digital Automation Cloud (DAC) is the combination of industrial-grade private wireless connectivity, running an on-premise edge that brings the ability to add high-value applications to the network with only minor hardware changes,” said André Gustavo Sant’Anna, Brazil Country Manager at Speedcast. “In addition to voice and video, we are looking at carrying telemetry data from wells, providing a video-based AI application to detect unauthorized access to wells in remote locations, worker tracking and health and safety wearables. Wherever technology can add value to operations, integrating it is straightforward and cost-effective.”

Marcelo Entreconti, Head of Enterprise for Nokia Latin America, said: “Nokia industrial-grade private wireless networks are the backbone and best starting point for the energy sector’s digital transformation journey. We thank SC Caprock and their customer for their confidence in our company and technology, and we are looking forward to new projects with both companies in the years to come.”

Nokia has deployed mission-critical networks to more than 2,200 leading enterprise customers in the transport, energy, large enterprise, manufacturing, webscale and public sector segments around the globe. It has also extended its expertise to more than 485 large, private wireless customers worldwide across an array of sectors, and has been cited by numerous industry analysts as the leading provider of private wireless networking worldwide.