5G-ACIA and FFPA sign MoU on Industrial Wireless Communications

- Driving Global Ecosystems for Industrial 5G -

The 5G Alliance for Connected Industries and Automation (5G-ACIA) and the Flexible Factory Partner Alliance (FFPA) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to cooperate over and build a successful global ecosystem for industrial wireless communications to improve automation, particularly regarding Industrial 5G. This new partnership aims to accelerate wireless utilization in smart manufacturing.

5G-ACIA and FFPA have already been exchanging information on new opportunities in the domain of industrial wireless communications for the past two years. As the market needs for 5G become more prominent in this area, both parties have decided to establish a closer relationship. The relevant items of activities on MoU are identification of topics for collaboration, e.g., joint development and analysis of use cases and requirements, joint marketing and promotional activities, and exchange of information and publications.

"We are excited to enter the next phase of collaboration with FFPA" said Dr. Andreas Mueller (Bosch), Chairman of 5G-ACIA. "Building upon the good and fruitful partnership we already had in the past, we look forward to further strengthen our ties and to jointly pave the way for the widespread adoption of wireless communication and in particular 5G in the manufacturing and process industries." For 5G-ACIA, the industrial powerhouse Japan is a key country, due to its many end users as well as its many OT and ICT companies. "Therefore, we look forward to gaining even more traction with Japanese stakeholders and to further expand our global footprint."

Dr. Kenichi Maruhashi (NEC), Representative Director of FFPA added, "We have been waiting for 5G to be available on the market. Our technical specifications of Smart Resource Flow (SRF) wireless platform have been developed for coordination control, mainly among unlicensed-band wireless communication systems, to ensure stable operation even in a factory environment. Until now, high-capacity, ultra-low-latency and licensed-band wireless technology, that is 5G, was a missing piece. Collaboration between 5G-ACIA and FFPA will manifest a vision for future factories with wireless-connectivity to enhance productivity."