Raising the Performance of LTE in Australian mines – It all comes to challenging the status quo
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LTE provides undeniable benefits to users of all kinds. This includes a high level of predictability, QoS and connectivity at longer distances than Wi-Fi style networks.
As LTE network infrastructure is becoming more affordable and access to spectrum is getting easier globally, miners are taking advantage of the technology for applications involving their mobile assets.
Mining does however create some specific challenges regarding the use of LTE.
5 ways to perform a site visit remotely
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There is no doubt about it – it is difficult to be proactive in the management of your wireless network. Yet, it is more critical than ever to be efficient, especially with the ‘new normal’ world we are moving to
While site visits might currently not be possible for many, we will review here 5 ways that a site visit can be performed remotely.
So, discover, learn and don’t wait to talk to your technology partner.
The Cost of Supporting Your Network
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3D-P works with a diverse, wide variety of clients – large to small, quarries to mines to airports, located all over the world – and during my tenure it has been very interesting to note both the differences, and commonalities between the clients and the diverse solutions we employ.
For example, no matter the industry, we can always apply the 3D-P pillars of successful network design:
- Understand the environment – geographically, culturally, and technologically
- Design for the application – now, and for the future
- Bring the best solution forward – best for the customer, not for us
Those are the common pillars we can use to build a stable, high-performing network for any customer, regardless of their size, industry, or application. The conversation then becomes one that can be different for every customer:
How can they best, most cost-effectively support that network?
Stop Guessing the Impact of the Changes Made to Your Site
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Whether you are identifying and fixing coverage issues, or trying to measure the performance of your wireless network the current set of tools available to you can be expensive, lacking in functionality, or extremely time consuming. 3D-P’s Managed Services offering of Network Performance Analysis Toolkit (NPAT) as a service aims to help you understand your wireless network performance by providing you and your team with a powerful map based visualization of key network performance indicators without needing to buy additional software.
Supporting Autonomy with a mission-critical network
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While mining applications initially required only basic telemetry to transmit data, the rise of more complex applications, including fleet management, resulted in a requirement for better performing networks.
The recent introduction of remote control and autonomous applications just increased the difficulty of the challenge.
Reliable connectivity for your mobile applications: Where do you start?
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While we all dream of the day where we can buy just one thing to solve our communications challenges in the mining environment, we all know the design specification for the silver bullet is a long way off (as in “that’s never going to happen”).
So where does that leave us? Well it’s a matter of opinion of course. For this crusty old consultant, the answer is one size never fits all. For me, the answer has always been what do I have in my tool belt that can solve this particular customer problem that makes sense for the customer and their application.
We are essentially talking about finding a business solution and not a vendor driven technology choice. As always, the answer lies in understanding the problem fully as it relates to the business operation in question.
More ways to bring your CFO to tears Part 2. Do your shareholders want to know about failed Proof of Concept projects or smart business leadership?
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All jokes aside, now heading into the twilight years of my career I have the unique honour of being asked my opinion about various subjects in my area of experience and some may say expertise. For anyone that knows me, you will get that I am driven from a place of always trying to do what is right by my customer and this conversation is less about technology and more about process.
While some may see my blog title as sarcastic or tongue in cheek, my point is to create some thought about who do you work for? And, is what I am doing right now bringing value to the shareholders now or in the future? If I am working on the strategic aspects of the business cycle, am I acting in the smartest way possible?
Digital transformation as a science project and how to make your CFO cry!
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All of our industry leaders talk about innovation as one of the key mechanisms to step change in our business. The conversation is as applicable in any industry as it is in mining. As a result, we certainly have no shortage of research organisations, committees, in-house research and development teams all working diligently to drive greater value in our respective ecosystems.
How ruggedized is the Intelligent Endpoint? Test 4: Submersion
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With a 20G shock resistance, the 3D-P Intelligent Endpoint is ruggedized and heavy! Many said it would make a great anchor. So, we listened to them and tried. Not only does it make a great anchor but also proved to be water resistant.
Check out the video.
How ruggedized is the Intelligent Endpoint? Test 3: Shot by a .38
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Testing the ruggedness of the 3D-P Intelligent Endpoint (IEP), we have so far thrown the same device out of an airplane (4 times!) and driven onto it. The IEP was still perfectly working at the end of those two tests.
So, we took it to the rifle range and practiced our shooting skills. Let’s see if our testing unit can take a bullet.