Verizon’s 5G Ultra Wideband service is operating now at Factory ZERO, with its exponential increases in both bandwidth and speed supporting the ongoing transformation of the plant as it prepares to begin producing EVs in 2021.
Verizon Business announced GM is one
of its first enterprise customers to use 5G Ultra Wideband service.
Verizon’s 5G Ultra Wideband network has considerably faster download
speeds and greater bandwidth than 4G networks.
Factory ZERO is
being completely retooled with a $2.2 billion investment, the largest
ever for a GM manufacturing facility. Once fully operational, the plant
will create more than 2,200 good-paying U.S. manufacturing jobs.
Today,
the Internet of Things is transforming manufacturing plants, enabling
connected devices to deliver important benefits to quality and safety.
Countless systems and equipment rely on connectivity, such as robotics,
sensors and the Automated Guided Vehicles that deliver materials across
the factory floor.
GM’s Information Technology team partnered
with Verizon Business to take advantage of the benefits of 5G
technology. Key benefits of 5G in a manufacturing plant include
reliability, speed and sheer scale. 5G’s massive bandwidth offers the
possibility to manage thousands of devices across Factory ZERO’s more
than 4 million square feet of space, with ample capacity to support
emerging technologies.
Both the upcoming GMC Hummer EV and the
Cruise Origin will be built at Factory ZERO on GM’s Ultium battery
platform. Ultium is flexible enough to build a wide range of EVs - cars,
trucks and more - and is the heart of GM’s future EV lineup.
