Telia CTO Mats Lundbäck first announced a 5G partnership programme with Volvo CE and Ericsson at the 5G World Congress in London, UK, in June 2018.

At the time, Patrik Lundblad, senior vice president of technology at Volvo CE, said: "The advantages of a faster, more reliable 5G network represent a huge step forward in connectivity. Within the construction industry it opens up great potential for processing mobile data and will inevitably impact the ways in which our machines communicate and interact remotely."

Accordingly, the 5G-equipped Eskilstuna facility can now be used to further develop solutions for remote-controlled and fully automated machinery.

Telia Sweden CEO Anders Olsson has witnessed considerable industry interest in 5G.

"Automation of the entire flow will mean new ways of working and greater gains from efficiency. But to connect business-critical machines and vehicles requires a solution that can handle the massive amounts of data with guaranteed connection. That is what 5G can give us," he said.

5G, compared to 4G networks, can offer more speed, lower latency, higher accessibility and the ability to control more connected devices simultaneously.

"With extremely short response times, high capacity and a high level of accessibility to the mobile network, commercial and standardised 5G technology can be used for applications such as remote control of heavy machinery in real time," said Magnus Frodigh, head of research at Ericsson.

"This opens new opportunities for greater efficiency, cutting costs and reducing risk in hazardous environments. 5G enables us to create a safer, more efficient and sustainable society. In cooperation with Telia and Volvo CE, we are now putting theory into practice in Eskilstuna."

Volvo CE will apply the lessons learned from tests at Eskilstuna to its global activities.

"Connected machines and autonomous solutions are the future. They can give our customers more efficient production, logistics, greater flexibility and safer work," said Volvo CE president Melker Jernberg.

"By minimising the potential safety risks and downtime associated with sectors such as mining, we can get closer to our goal of zero emissions, zero accidents and zero unplanned stops. It will be exciting to see how far 5G can take us on that journey."