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Press Release07 April 2025Digital IndustriesNuremberg/Munich
Siemens and O₂ Telefónica partner to develop solutions based on 5G network slicing
Siemens and O₂ Telefónica Deutschland cooperate (from left): Axel Lorenz, CEO Process Automation, Siemens; Alfons Lösing, Chief Partner und Wholesale Officer, O₂ Telefónica; Herbert Wegmann, General Manager Digital Connectivity and Power, Siemens.
The new connectivity solution "5G Slice for the Water
Industry" allows water utilities to monitor and control their entire system
of automation technology over a virtual 5G network using 5G network slicing
technology. These networks are optimized to reliably deliver defined Quality of
Service (QoS) for automation applications. This is critical for processes like
pressure control, flow measurement, and automated emergency response at water
utilities' mostly distributed sites.
5G network slicing is a technology that divides O₂ Telefónica
Germany's physical 5G mobile network into customized virtual networks called
slices. These 5G slices are regionally limited and optimized for individual use
cases in terms of their speed, response time, and security. The two partners worked
together to develop and test a solution consisting of 5G routers from Siemens
and 5G slices from O₂ Telefónica to fulfill the high communication
requirements of automation protocols. Thanks to the end-to-end separation of
data traffic from the public Internet, the solution ensures a high level of
cybersecurity and data protection for water companies which are subject to
critical infrastructure regulations.
"By working with O₂ Telefónica Germany, we can offer our
customers in the water industry a secure and reliable communication solution
for their distributed applications. The combination of Siemens hardware and 5G
network slicing delivers the necessary quality, reliability and security for
demanding automation applications," said Axel Lorenz, CEO Process
Automation at Siemens.
"As a leading technology company, Siemens is the ideal partner for
the practical application of 5G network slicing. For the first time, this
technology is driving industrial applications via mobile communications with defined
performance parameters. Our jointly developed solution marks the breakthrough
for 5G network slicing in critical, distributed industrial applications in
Germany," said Alfons Lösing, Chief Partner and Wholesale Officer of O₂ Telefónica.
Industrial 5G Router from Siemens
Water treatment plant
The solution is already being tested by a water utility in the state of North
Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, and addresses one of the biggest challenges in the
water industry: a secure and efficient central orchestration of distributed
infrastructure, from pumping stations and reservoirs to water towers and water
treatment plants. Until now, many water utilities had to spend lots of effort for
monitoring, control, and connectivity, which is often time-consuming, costly,
and requires complex individual solutions. With the new connectivity solution
from Siemens and O₂ Telefónica, water utilities can easily and securely
connect their entire infrastructure via 5G network slicing technology and
integrate additional sites into their network faster.
For this press release
Siemens Digital Industries (DI) empowers companies of all sizes within the process and discrete manufacturing industries to accelerate their digital and sustainability transformation across the entire value chain. Siemens’ cutting-edge automation and software portfolio revolutionizes the design, realization and optimization of products and production. And with Siemens Xcelerator – the open digital business platform – this process is made even easier, faster, and scalable. Together with our partners and ecosystem, Siemens Digital Industries enables customers to become a sustainable Digital Enterprise. Siemens Digital Industries has a workforce of around 70,000 people worldwide.
Siemens AG (Berlin and Munich) is a leading technology company focused on industry, infrastructure, mobility, and healthcare. The company’s purpose is to create technology to transform the everyday, for everyone. By combining the real and the digital worlds, Siemens empowers customers to accelerate their digital and sustainability transformations, making factories more efficient, cities more livable, and transportation more sustainable. Siemens also owns a majority stake in the publicly listed company Siemens Healthineers, a leading global medical technology provider pioneering breakthroughs in healthcare. For everyone. Everywhere. Sustainably.
In fiscal 2024, which ended on September 30, 2024, the Siemens Group generated revenue of €75.9 billion and net income of €9.0 billion. As of September 30, 2024, the company employed around 312,000 people worldwide on the basis of continuing operations. Further information is available on the Internet at www.siemens.com.
In fiscal 2024, which ended on September 30, 2024, the Siemens Group generated revenue of €75.9 billion and net income of €9.0 billion. As of September 30, 2024, the company employed around 312,000 people worldwide on the basis of continuing operations. Further information is available on the Internet at www.siemens.com.
O₂ Telefónica is a leading full-service provider of telecommunications services for private and business customers. The portfolio of the core brand O₂ and various secondary and partner brands includes traditional telephony and internet connections as well as innovative digital services in the area of the Internet of Things and data analysis. In mobile communications, O₂ Telefónica manages more than 45 million mobile lines (incl. M2M - as at 31.12.2024). No network operator connects more people in this country. The company's high-performance and award-winning mobile network reaches more than 99 percent of the population. In the fixed network, O₂ Telefónica offers its customers leading technological diversity and geographical availability in Germany. In the 2024 financial year, the company generated revenue of 8.5 billion euros with around 7,500 employees. The company is majority-owned by the Spanish telecommunications group Telefónica S.A., based in Madrid, one of the largest telecommunications groups in the world.