Mining communications
A mine needs three networks, not one: a narrowband trunked radio layer that keeps working when everything else fails, a private LTE/5G layer for telemetry and autonomous equipment, and fibre distribution to get signal through the levels. This page covers how those fit together and what we supply.
How big is this market
Figures come from published third-party market research, with the source named under each one — we do not publish numbers we cannot trace.
What a mine actually needs
Underground, coverage fails for ordinary reasons — rock attenuates, the levels are deep, and the working faces move. Three layers are used together. The narrowband trunked radio layer is the safety net: voice and alarms that keep working when the wideband network is congested or down. The private LTE or 5G layer carries telemetry, video and the data the autonomous fleet generates. Fibre distribution and repeaters deliver both through the levels and into the stopes.
- Safety layer
- DMR and TETRA narrowband trunked radio for voice and alarm
- Bandwidth layer
- Private LTE (B1/B3/B7/B8/B20/B28) or 5G NR (n41/n78) per project
- Distribution
- Fibre-coupled repeaters and passive distribution into the levels
- Interference
- ICS self-cancelling units where the isolation budget is tight
What we supply for mining
The narrowband layer is covered by the DMR and TETRA lines — including ICS self-interference-cancelling units, which is what makes a single mast feasible when the isolation budget is tight. The private LTE and 5G NR lines cover the wideband layer, with fibre-coupled remote units for the levels and the stope faces. Models are configured per project; the model number states the band set, MIMO and form.
Search the model list by number, standard or band, tick what you need and send it to us — documents on file can be claimed immediately, the rest come with the quote after we confirm them.
Open the model listWhere mining private networks are being built
Middle East & Africa
Deep-shaft mines; Private LTE for mining growing at 15.8% CAGR here.
Namibia
Mobile operator MTC has built private LTE towers at the Rössing uranium mine.
Latin America
Copper belt operations in Chile and Peru on private networks.
Common questions
Do we need both narrowband and broadband underground?
In most deep mines, yes. The narrowband layer is what keeps working when the wideband network is congested, and it is what the safety system runs on. A private LTE or 5G network on its own does not replace it.
What is ICS interference cancellation for?
It lowers the isolation needed between the donor and serving antennas, so both can be mounted on one mast. That is often what decides whether a mine level is deployable at all, because mast space underground is expensive and limited.
Can you quote a mine project?
Yes. Send us the site plan, the levels and the standard you run, and we will come back with a per-configuration quote and the model list.