Foreword

Fo r ew o r d

Recently, the term 'Industry 4.0’ has entered popular lexicon, heralding some of the biggest socio-economic changes since the widespread adoption of computers and the internet in the 1980s. The intervening decades have seen the ubiquitous automation of office functions through Operational Technology (OT) and Information Technology (IT), both of which are now taken for granted in our everyday lives.

The ‘Fourth Industrial Revolution’ is well underway. We are witnessing the mass adoption of autonomous machines, advanced robotics, big data and analytics, the internet of things, digital ubiquity, cloud computing, smart factories, machine learning & AI, and cyber-physical interaction. Some of these terms may seem like space-age buzzwords, but the truth is that they are here right now, often masked by simple user interfaces which hide the advanced technology behind. For some techniques, current iterations belie potential future functionality - and its implications. Alexa: Filet steak and asparagus please. Rare. Pronto.

Whether functional now or aspirational, all are dependent upon communications: between devices, users, 'the cloud’, data stores, service providers and more. Communications are therefore one of the fundamental underpinnings of the ongoing digital revolution. Networks are a necessity for delivering Industry 4.0 because of the requirement for speed, bandwidth, and reliability. Public mobile will play a major part, and even more so with the roll out of 5G. However mobile communications in general, and 5G in particular, is often misunderstood by those not directly involved with technical implementation.

We hope that this RIA guide will allow our members to understand more about the topic, enabling them to scope, plan and execute projects. It has been created with the assistance of mobile data professionals from within our membership, but the advice provided within is agnostic to supplier. The guide is not prescriptive but instead gives general pointers and examples of good practice where possible. The aim was to provide a practical guide to aid the planning, specifying and delivery of rail projects, harnessing the full benefits of public 5G networks in the coming years.

Like all technical guides, it starts thick and fast with technical terms and acronyms! Rather than define them all as we go, we have instead opted to include a handy glossary up front.

We would like to thank our members for creating this guide. We hope it is of use to other members and, as always, we welcome any feedback – technicalteam@riagb.org.uk .

Dr Sam Bemment, Technical and Innovation Manager, Railway Industry Association, October 2022.

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