Ericsson and Epiroc are stepping up their joint efforts to push private 5G into the mining world.
Getting a steady stream of data down into these subterranean spaces is tough. The conditions are brutal on both the human crews working there and the tech they use. The partners are targeting that challenge to ensure fast and reliable connectivity for essential machinery.
Paul Bergström, President of Epiroc’s Digital Solutions division, said: “Connectivity is becoming increasingly important as mining companies advance automation and digitalisation throughout their operations.
“Together with Ericsson, we are strengthening our offering and helping customers build the robust communications infrastructure needed to enable safer, more efficient, and more productive mining operations.”
Rocks and radio waves
Mines are just about the worst place imaginable for wireless signals. Standard radio waves easily get absorbed, blocked, or scrambled by the massive amounts of machinery, metal, and rock compacted into these spaces.
Wi-Fi has had its shot in the mining space. The verdict? It just doesn’t have the muscle to support massive, driverless gear that needs split-second reaction times. Steering a giant, uncrewed haul truck down a cramped tunnel demands a signal that never quits. Older setups stumble badly here, plagued by dead zones, bandwidth bottlenecks, and the dreaded signal drop when jumping between access points.
This has held back the full potential of a connected mine. You can have the most advanced remote-controlled drill rig in the world, but if its connection to the surface operator drops for even a second, you’ve got a massive problem. The same goes for collecting the huge amounts of telemetry data needed for effective predictive maintenance. AI models are essentially useless unless they receive an uninterrupted feed of data from the site’s various sensors.
Rather than forcing public mobile networks to work below ground, the two companies are setting up custom private 5G and LTE systems designed specifically for individual mines. This gives the mining operators complete ownership and control over a rugged, industrial-grade cellular foundation.
On the tech side, Ericsson supplies the brains and the brawn of the network. This covers the radio gear, the core system, and the management software—all hardened to survive underground. Epiroc contributes self-driving loaders, autonomous haulers, and drills operated entirely by remote control.
Autonomous and remote setups require fast response times and high capacity, which this specific network design consistently delivers. Someone in a surface control centre sees a live video feed without a hint of lag. When they move a joystick, the rig hundreds of meters below ground responds almost instantly.
With that level of rock-solid dependability, widespread mining automation shifts becomes a practical and safe reality.
Private 5G enables predictive insights in mining
Every sensor on every piece of Epiroc equipment – that monitors everything from engine temperature, hydraulic pressure, drill bit wear, and vibration – can stream its data back to a central platform in real-time.
This enables a truly predictive maintenance model. Instead of servicing a machine based on a fixed schedule, AI algorithms can analyse live and historical data to predict failures before they happen. For a mine, that’s a massive deal.
Surprise breakdowns on critical gear don’t just stop work; they bleed money. If you can spot a failing part before it actually snaps, crews can swap it out during normal maintenance windows. The result is a much healthier bottom line. Through this collaboration, each connected machine essentially becomes a mobile data-collection tool.
Pankaj Malhotra, Head of Product and Engineering at Ericsson Enterprise Wireless Solutions, explained: “This collaboration is about enabling real operational impact for mining customers—safer operations, higher productivity, and greater efficiency.
“By providing the connectivity foundation behind Epiroc’s digital and automation solutions, we are helping mining companies modernise operations at scale. Our partnership with Epiroc is an important step in building the connected ecosystems that modern industrial enterprises depend on.”
Ericsson and Epiroc aren’t just trying to shift boxes of tech and heavy metal. Their endgame is to lay down a digital foundation that completely rewrites the mining playbook. They want sites to run safer, lean heavily on data, and extract way more product.
See also: NVIDIA NemoClaw AI agents automate industrial engineering
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