--- title: PLC/Industrial date: 2026-07-10T16:34:00+10:00 author: Pepper Marketing canonical_url: "https://celona.io/plcs-and-machinery" section: Site Content --- ![Img plc machinery plcswitchboard 01](https://celona.io/volumes/images/Content/Solutions/Use-Cases/PLC-and-Machinery/_2000xAUTO_crop_center-center_none/41357/img_plc-machinery-plcswitchboard-01.webp) # **Untethered machines, deterministic control** Take PLCs, machinery, and robotics off fixed cabling - one converged wireless fabric carries your industrial control traffic with guaranteed latency and reliability, per device and per application. 1. [ Home ](https://celona.io/) 2. Solutions 3. By use case 4. PLC/Industrial Trusted by leading enterprises ![Logo - DelConca](https://celona.io/volumes/images/Content/Logos/_400x240_letterbox_center-center_90_none/14117/delconca.webp) / Overview ## Untethered operations Industrial control has always run on cable - PROFINET, EtherNet/IP, and Modbus over fixed wiring that pins every machine in place. But production now moves: AGVs and robotic cells re-lay the floor, retrofits reach where conduit can’t, and robots and vision systems are joining PLCs on the network. Best-effort wireless can’t carry control traffic that won’t tolerate a dropped packet, and re-cabling every change is slow and expensive. Celona Orion takes PLCs, machinery, and robotics off fixed cabling - one converged wireless fabric that carries industrial control traffic with guaranteed latency and reliability, per device and per application, with native Layer 2 where the protocol requires it. The economics and the engineering finally line up: cellular delivers the determinism industrial control needs, at a fraction of the cost of trenching fiber. / Why it matters “A dedicated cellular-enabled Industry 4.0 solution could potentially deliver a return on investment (ROI) of **10x to 20x over five years**, while contributing to operational cost savings of about 8.5%.” \- ABI RESEARCH, HOW TO IMPROVE ROI FOR INDUSTRY 4.0 USE CASES “They wanted to add redundancy to the Layer 2 distribution layer of their OT network - and the estimates for running fiber were pushing upwards of **a hundred thousand dollars**. So they came to us asking: can we leverage the private cellular network to establish that connectivity?” \- WALTER BRUMBALO, WIRELESS SERVICES MANAGER, INS / Use case requirements ![Icon ai devices plc ink 512](https://celona.io/volumes/images/Icons/AI-and-Connected-Devices/Standard/512/icon_ai_devices_plc_ink_512.png) #### **Wireless machine control** Carry PLC and machine control traffic - PROFINET RT, EtherNet/IP, Modbus - over the air with the reliability the process demands, including native Layer 2 connectivity where the protocol requires it. Private 5G is the fastest-growing enterprise network - projected to grow ~35%/yr to $17.55B by 2030, led by manufacturing. (MarketsandMarkets) ![Icon ai devices agv ink 512](https://celona.io/volumes/images/Icons/AI-and-Connected-Devices/Standard/512/icon_ai_devices_agv_ink_512.png) #### **Mobile and reconfigurable production** AGVs, AMRs, robotic cells, and skid-mounted equipment move - and lines get re-laid - without cabling rework or downtime. PLCs last 40+ years; the network has to flex around them. Automated changeover cells have cut line changeover from 45 to 8 minutes while lifting yield 25%. (Plant Engineering) ![Icon attributes distributed ink 512](https://celona.io/volumes/images/Icons/Attributes/Standard/512/icon_attributes_distributed_ink_512.png) #### **Resilient OT networks** Close Ethernet distribution rings over the air so a cut cable doesn’t stop production, and bring new sensors and devices into expansions without trenching fiber. Unplanned downtime now costs manufacturers $125K-$260K per hour on average. (ReliaMag - Aberdeen/ABB) ![Icon ai devices manufacturing robots ink 512](https://celona.io/volumes/images/Icons/AI-and-Connected-Devices/Standard/512/icon_ai_devices_manufacturing_robots_ink_512.png) #### **Machines and physical AI on one fabric** Robots, vision systems, and sensor fleets are joining PLCs on the floor. Every one of them - and the people working alongside - rides the same converged fabric, with performance guaranteed per device and per app. Over 4.6M industrial robots are now in operation worldwide, with ~540K installed in 2024 alone. (IFR World Robotics 2025) / Converged connectivity ## Untethering the machine requires a different network Celona Orion is the industry’s first agentic converged wireless platform - bringing private 5G, Wi-Fi, and (as reach extends) public mobile and satellite together as one deterministic fabric, run as a single control plane, with native Layer 2 for the protocols that need it. Converged. Agentic. Trusted. \_01Production has outgrown the cable plant \_02Industrial protocols weren’t written for best-effort wireless \_03Downtime is expensive, and wireless has to earn OT’s trust \_01Production has outgrown the cable plant ### Production has outgrown the cable plant The challenge - Layout changes and line reconfigurations require downtime and manual re-cabling. - Cable can’t reach everywhere - clean rooms, or retrofit areas a scissor lift can’t access. - Finding a fault in a vast cable plant is slow, specialized work, and harsh environments drive up maintenance costs. - Plants stuck in reactive maintenance average 8.43% unplanned downtime a year; connected, predictive operations cut that to 5.42% (Oden Technologies). Celona Orion - one converged fabric, built for machines that move - Deterministic coverage across floors, yards, and heavy metal - from a platform built from day one with cellular in mind. - Move, add, and reconfigure machinery freely: no trenching, no conduit, no downtime for re-cabling. - Greenfield sites designed cable-free from day one; brownfield retrofitted with minimal disruption. - Wi-Fi in the same subscription at no added cost - the high-capacity workhorse for docked equipment, scanners, and carpeted areas. \_02Industrial protocols weren’t written for best-effort wireless ### Industrial protocols weren’t written for best-effort wireless The challenge - PROFINET RT depends on Layer 2 broadcast connectivity; EtherNet/IP Class 0/1 communicates over multicast. - Cellular is a Layer 3 network - without native L2 support, control traffic needs overlay boxes and workarounds. - Best-effort wireless drops and latency spikes break control loops. - PLC estates last 40+ years - the network has to meet them where they are. Celona Orion - native Layer 2, straight through the fabric - L2-over-GRE and VXLAN tunnels built natively into the Celona fabric - no additional infrastructure, terminating into any VLAN you choose. - Certified industrial gateways and routers (Digi and others) bridge PLCs and legacy equipment onto the fabric. - MicroSlicing™ gives critical control traffic its own lane, with configurable packet delay budget and packet error rate. - Existing LAN policies, segmentation, and security posture carry over - IT and OT keep full visibility and control. \_03Downtime is expensive, and wireless has to earn OT’s trust ### Downtime is expensive, and wireless has to earn OT’s trust The challenge - Over 60% of outages now cost $100,000 or more, and the share above $1M keeps rising (Uptime Institute). - Metal, machinery, and electrical noise make industrial floors hostile territory for best-effort wireless. - Shared-key security isn’t acceptable for machines carrying the most operationally critical traffic in the business. - A single fiber cut can take a distribution ring - and production - down; redundant fiber runs cost six figures. Celona Orion - a guaranteed experience, with security architected in - Per-device, per-app SLAs via MicroSlicing: measured RTT under 20 ms unloaded, and 20-25 ms with PLC traffic in a MicroSlice under load. - Ring closure over the fabric: a physical break fails over in milliseconds and production keeps running. - SIM-based identity instead of shared keys, over-the-air encryption, and micro-segmentation for OT - security built into every layer of the fabric. - Orchestrator, the agentic operations plane, watches the fabric in real time and holds it to the guaranteed experience. / Proof ## Real sites. Real results. ![](https://celona.io/volumes/images/Content/Solutions/Use-Cases/PLC-and-Machinery/_width1000px/img-celona-5g-lower-latency_V2.png?transformId=8960)### **Deterministic under load** Round-trip latency under 20 ms unloaded and 20-25 ms with PLC traffic in a MicroSlice on a loaded network; 99.9% of latency spikes under 100 ms. (Celona test data, Untethering PLCs whitepaper) ![](https://celona.io/volumes/images/Content/Solutions/Use-Cases/PLC-and-Machinery/_width1000px/img_resilient-ether-protocal-pepvpn-l2-tubbel_V2.png?transformId=8965)### **Ring redundancy without fiber** An OT distribution ring closed over the fabric fails over in milliseconds - replacing a fiber run quoted at roughly $100K. (INS deployment) ![](https://celona.io/volumes/images/Content/Solutions/Use-Cases/PLC-and-Machinery/_width1000px/img-bottles-manufactoring-01.png?transformId=8970)### **Superior coverage** A wine-bottling plant’s all-metal container yard fully covered by 2 APs at −85 dBm worst case (INS); a steel plant replaced 6 Wi-Fi APs with 1 outdoor AP - 70× less unplanned downtime, ROI in under 3 months. ![](https://celona.io/volumes/images/Content/Solutions/Use-Cases/PLC-and-Machinery/_width1000px/img-steel-manufactoring.png?transformId=8966)### **Machine-scale economics** 10-20× five-year ROI and ~8.5% operational cost savings for cellular-enabled Industry 4.0 deployments (ABI Research); the steel plant’s 3-year network cost savings: 39% indoor, 31% outdoor. ![](https://celona.io/volumes/images/Content/Solutions/Use-Cases/PLC-and-Machinery/_width1000px/img_l2-ethernet-over-gre_V2.png?transformId=8967)### **Deployment imagery** - A certified industrial gateway (e.g., Digi IX30) mounted at a PLC cabinet - the “last meter” of the untethered machine. - AGV/AMR in motion on a production floor under AP coverage. - The INS wine-bottling all-metal container yard (2-AP coverage). - Architecture graphic: PLC → certified gateway → converged fabric → OT network, showing the native L2 tunnel path. / Testimonials ### **Medical device manufacturer (unnamed)** Clean manufacturing rooms were overwhelmed by cabling. PLCs moved onto the fabric over native L2 tunnels, with MicroSlicing guaranteeing latency for control traffic; once the canopy was up, label printers, scanners, and other devices were offloaded onto the same network. ### **INS** > If this is your production environment, your production continues to run. You have not taken operations down - which is the key benefit. Walter Brumbalo Wireless Services Manager, INS (35 years in industrial OT) On covering an all-metal container yard with two APs: “It would take dozens and dozens of Wi-Fi access points to do something like that.” ### **Del Conca USA** AGVs and forklifts work seamlessly across the entire 30-acre indoor/outdoor tile factory - 8 indoor and 4 outdoor APs, with eSIM smartphones and tablets on the same network. ### **U.S. steel manufacturer (unnamed)** 70% reduction in operational disruption versus Wi-Fi, saving over $2M in annual material and labor costs; fewer than five network disruptions in 18 months. ### **Global auto maker (unnamed)** 18 APs cover a 1.5-square-mile campus where 20+ autonomous yard trucks feed just-in-time manufacturing. / Certified devices ## Devices for the untethered machine Industrial gateways, routers, and devices certified on Celona through interoperability testing - bridging PLCs, machinery, and legacy equipment onto the converged fabric. ![Icon ai devices iot gateway ink 512](https://celona.io/volumes/images/Icons/AI-and-Connected-Devices/Standard/512/_240x240_crop_center-center_90_none/20900/icon_ai_devices_iot_gateway_ink_512.webp) ### Certified industrial gateways & routers Digi (IX30/IX40) and others bridge PLCs and legacy OT equipment onto the fabric over native Layer 2, with Supernetting keeping each device individually visible. [ See devices ](/5g-lan-device-certification?ff=iot-gateway) ![Icon ai devices ruggedized tablet ink 512](https://celona.io/volumes/images/Icons/AI-and-Connected-Devices/Standard/512/_240x240_crop_center-center_90_none/20907/icon_ai_devices_ruggedized_tablet_ink_512.webp) ### Ruggedized handhelds & tablets Scanners and eSIM tablets built for the floor and yard. [ See devices ](/5g-lan-device-certification?ff=ruggedized-tablet,ruggedized-handheld) ![Icon ai devices smartphone ink 512](https://celona.io/volumes/images/Icons/AI-and-Connected-Devices/Standard/512/_240x240_crop_center-center_90_none/22428/icon_ai_devices_smartphone_ink_512.webp) ### Consumer smartphones & tablets eSIM-connected on the private network (as in the Del Conca deployment). [ See devices ](/5g-lan-device-certification?ff=consumer-tablet,consumer-smartphone) Digi Sierra Wireless Zebra Apple Samsung [ See certified devices ](https://celona.io/5g-lan-device-certification) / Resources ## **Go deeper** [ ![Resource default product documentation](https://celona.io/volumes/images/Resource-Defaults/_800x500_crop_center-center_75_none/47333/resource-default-product-documentation.webp) Product Documentation NEW ### Solution Brief: AerLoc One identity, one security model across every radio, security built into the converged wireless fabric. Aug 2026 ](https://celona.io/resources/solution-brief-aerloc) [ ![Resource default product documentation](https://celona.io/volumes/images/Resource-Defaults/_800x450_crop_center-center_75_none/47333/resource-default-product-documentation.webp) Product Documentation NEW ### Solution Brief: Robotics OEM Give any robot or edge AI device intelligent, multi-network wireless - without building a wireless team. Manufacturing · Aug 2026 ](https://celona.io/resources/solution-brief-robotics-oem) [ ![Resource default product documentation](https://celona.io/volumes/images/Resource-Defaults/_800x450_crop_center-center_75_none/47333/resource-default-product-documentation.webp) Product Documentation NEW ### Solution Brief: Orchestrator AI Unify private 5G, Wi-Fi, public cellular and satellite into one agentic operations fabric - where engineers and AI agents work side by side. Aug 2026 ](https://celona.io/resources/solution-brief-orchestrator-ai) [ ![Resource default product documentation](https://celona.io/volumes/images/Resource-Defaults/_800x450_crop_center-center_75_none/47333/resource-default-product-documentation.webp) Product Documentation NEW ### Solution Brief: EdgeOS The network operating system that integrates the wireless fabric into the enterprise IP network. Aug 2026 ](https://celona.io/resources/solution-brief-edgeos) [Access all Resources ](https://celona.io/resources) / Get started ![Icon engagement expert services white 512](https://celona.io/volumes/images/Icons/Engagement/Reverse/512/_240x240_crop_center-center_90_none/33211/icon_engagement_expert_services_white_512.webp) ### Talk to us Tell us about your site and we’ll work through the right converged deployment with you. [ Contact us ](https://celona.io/contact-us) ![Icon resources documents white 512](https://celona.io/volumes/images/Icons/Resources/Reverse/512/_240x240_crop_center-center_90_none/21101/icon_resources_documents_white_512.webp) ### Case studies See what enterprises are running in production on Celona, and what it took to get there. [ Read the case studies ](https://celona.io/case-studies) ![Icon engagement one transparent price white 512](https://celona.io/volumes/images/Icons/Engagement/Reverse/512/_240x240_crop_center-center_90_none/33213/icon_engagement_one_transparent_price_white_512.webp) ### Price your deployment Compare Celona against Wi-Fi and private cellular alternatives across five worked deployment scenarios. [ See pricing ](https://celona.io/pricing)