Further reminders of the growing relevance of mobile operators to major industries come from the mining business in Brazil and the offshore oil business in Azerbaijan.
According to news service Bnamericas, Brazilian operator TIM is about to install 4G LTE networks at a number of mining company Anglo American's nickel and iron ore sites in Brazil.
The agreement covers five Anglo American operations in Goiás, Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro states, according to TIM.
The news service highlights the fact that TIM has been targeting a number of industries, including agribusiness, working with Nokia, and connected vehicles, alongside Fiat Chrysler.
Also potentially relevant to TIM and Brazilian industry is the news that the ME310G1-WW module from Telit, a global enabler of the Internet of Things (IoT), has successfully completed lab tests at TIM’s Brazilian operations using LTE NB2.
The tests are a major milestone toward TIM’s commercial launch of NB2, which is ideal for smart grids, fitness/medical wearables, smart cities and other IoT applications that require long battery life, reliable connectivity and downlink speeds of up to 120 kbps.
Brazilian businesses, utility companies, agriculture and financial services are expected to be among the sectors to benefit.
Meanwhile, in Azerbaijan, Bakcell has become the first mobile operator in the country to start providing mobile internet not just on land but also at sea.
An agreement on the provision of offshore mobile internet services signed with one of the biggest oil companies operating in the country (the company’s press release did not specify which one) has brought mobile internet to four sea vessels and one oil platform.
Personnel working on the vessels and oil platforms will be able to benefit from unlimited mobile internet with a speed of up to 10 Mbps.
