Meglab Collaborates with Bell to Create Seamless Networks, From Underground to Surface

Meglab Collaborates with Bell to Create Seamless Networks, From Underground to Surface

As technology continues to evolve, businesses are becoming more reliant on it to overcome challenges and move towards greater productivity, social acceptability, and risk reduction.  To help businesses keep up with an ever-changing technological world, Meglab offers solutions to support transformation initiatives aimed at the mine of the future.  But these solutions are only as good as the network that supports them.  That’s why Meglab develops and implements their own underground network and seamlessly integrates it with surface networks.

What is it?

Meglab’s private LTE network for the industrial and mining sectors allows the secure transfer of large quantities of data, videos, images, and voice at very high speeds.  With this, mining companies can use artificial intelligence in their daily operations to automate and evaluate decision-making processes in order to maximize productivity.  They are also able to perform preventative maintenance and create a more secure working environment for their employees. 

Collaboration with Bell

Meglab adopted this system for Eldorado Gold’s Lamaque mine in an effort to improve speed, security, reliability and flexibility of operations.  The entire system implemented at the mine site is based on Meglab’s expertise in mining, in developing underground network, and on Bell’s reliable surface network.  With this collaborative approach, Meglab and Bell were able to connect hundreds of workers, vehicles, and devices all across Lamaque mine; from underground tunnels to surface.

Meglab’s LTE solution in action

After installing an audio-video communication network, Lamaque immediately saw significant improvements in their employees’ productivity.  This new system enabled better communication through an LTE signal and facilitated seamless confidential group conversations between underground workers and those on the surface, resulting in real-time, instant decision making.  This LTE solution also allowed workers to call in outside experts when underground to troubleshoot and solve problems.  Users are also able to access data sheets from anywhere with their phones, and fill out reports directly on tablets, creating much more efficient operational processes.  The LTE solution is also resistant to cyber-attacks, making audio communications and data transfers even more secure.

The system is so secure that Lamaque mine decided to convert their blasting system to the LTE.  They performed series of blasts with success.

The mine is also performing teleoperation of vehicles through the LTE network.  Meglab supplied a complete solution including hardware, programming and the LTE interface in order to replace the existing WIFI interface on the OEM vehicle.

Meglab’s LTE solution is simple to operate and reduces employees’ workload.  The network allows equipment telemetry to be sent to the HMI (Human machine interface) which help troubleshooting and to improve the performance of the equipment.

Meglab’s expertise in networking solutions and electronics is the result of two decades of applied research and development focused on providing evolving solutions adapted to underground mines.  Our telecommunication solutions are tailored to support the technological projects of companies.  Whether wired, wireless or optical networks, cameras and surveillance equipment, access control systems, or radio communication systems, our experts work to make your communications reliable and user-friendly.  Our telecommunication solutions are adapted to the needs of the industry and can be implemented underground and/or on the surface.