LTE Networks Provide Private, Secure, and Efficient Connectivity

Granite Telecommunications, located in Quincy, Massachusetts, is a provider of advanced communications and technology solutions to multi-location businesses and government agencies throughout the United States and Canada.

Granite was working with a global building materials company headquartered in Mexico to design and implement a private LTE network for their large aggregate quarry located in Texas. This facility provides critical building materials including cement, ready-mix concrete, aggregates, and other products for projects across the State of Texas such as housing, roads, bridges, commercial buildings, and other infrastructure facilities. 

Granite needed a supply chain solutions partner to facilitate the delivery of an outdoor private LTE solution for their facility. Because of Wesco’s reputation in the industry and their relationships with many state-of-the-art technology suppliers, Granite partnered with Wesco to define a Scope of Work (SOW) for the project and to enable the project.

The SOW provided an overview of the project governance and project organization. It also detailed the remote support for hardware installation, software installation, components, configuration, integration, acceptance, and handover of the project to the end user. Wesco worked in conjunction with Granite to ensure that the end-user’s connectivity needs for fronthaul would be met. This meant that Wesco became the liaison between the equipment manufacturer, Granite Telecommunications, and the end user to ensure that the solution being deployed would support a CBRS GAA LTE network. 

Why a Private LTE Network?

Quarries like the facility in Texas represent a lot of challenges in maintaining reliable and seamless wireless connectivity. This facility encompasses a large area with rolling terrain and includes equipment, vehicles, and workers who are in constant motion. It also includes a wide array of automated industrial equipment typically needed for a facility of this type.

A private LTE network is a perfect solution over using Wi-Fi for this type of application. Private LTE has a greater range and signal penetration, can improve speed, latency, and cost of data, as well as the ability to connect many more devices to an LTE network than a traditional Wi-Fi network. Because LTE networks use a wider frequency band and have a more efficient signal processing mechanism than a Wi-Fi network, signal strength and a reliable connection are still maintained throughout any location on the network.  Even if workers or equipment are on the move, a seamless connection is maintained.

For this end-user, a dedicated private LTE network gives them a variety of benefits:

• Provides a scalable and reliable network with more mobility and broader coverage areas
• Improve safety and efficiency for workers
• Provides internal security and control
• Ability to centrally manage and monitor their own network
• Provide for more efficient and cost-effective operations
• Provides more capability to run or add other automated applications and devices (IoT)

Game Changer

As more companies are facing technological transformation, they are realizing that they can be more efficient and best positioned for the future if they move to a private LTE network. By having a scalable, reliable, high-speed, and cost-effective LTE network, this end-user will have more capability to run additional automated applications and it will provide them with a platform on which to grow and add functionality.  Even more so, an LTE network will enable them to be more efficient and cost-effective while serving their customers.

The Final Word

No matter the industry or application, it is important that your quality of connection is secure, reliable, and fast. By partnering with Wesco to facilitate the network and software infrastructure, Granite Telecommunications was able to provide the end-user with an LTE network that gives them improved efficiencies, secure and reliable connectivity, as well as real-time data and performance monitoring.