Under 900 Meters: Lilou Coal Mine's Invisible Information Superhighway Integrating Multiple Networks into a Converged Bearer Network

Among the vast lands of Shandong Province, deep within the Lilou Coal Mine in Heze city, a network revolution is quietly reshaping the traditional 40-year-old mining network. The traditional network struggles to support the increasingly sophisticated applications in mines. The integrated bearer network for coal mine information, jointly developed by Shandong Energy Group, Yunding Technology, and Huawei, has paved the way for an intelligent information superhighway in the industry.

Coal mines transitioning towards smart mines have long been constrained by traditional network architectures. Beneath the crisscrossing optical cables underground, there are three core independent networks running in parallel—production control, video observation and personnel safety monitoring. These parallel networks are often deployed to enhance reliability. However, this approach not only incurs high construction and maintenance costs but also introduces complex security risks that threaten long-term network stability. A critical vulnerability arises from the use of outdated ring network architectures within these systems. If a ring network triggers a broadcast storm, the entire network can be paralyzed, requiring repair personnel to conduct time-consuming underground troubleshooting. This often results in full production interruptions lasting several hours.

The implementation of a "no operations without video observation" approach demands a substantial amount of bandwidth. Furthermore, to prevent overcurrent tripping, the power system requires extremely low latency. This highlights the need for a network capable of meeting diverse business requirements beyond the capabilities of traditional networks.

At the end of 2022, Shandong Energy Group and Yunding Technology collaborated with Huawei's technical team and spent two years working on the mines architectural upgrades. They utilized SRv6 and Flex E network slicing technologies to develop a new generation underground network—the Integrated Bearer Network for coal mine information. This technology consolidates all mining operations onto a single network, using network slicing to ensure business isolation. It marks the industry’s first successful integration of safety monitoring and control access onto a shared network. In 2024, Lilou Coal Mine's solution became the first in China to be approved by a third party for implementation across all business domains.

"Traditional networks are like congested old roads where all vehicles are squeezed together, leading to frequent traffic jams. In contrast, our coal mine information integrated bearer network uses network slicing technology to divide the network into different channels, similar to multiple highways with dedicated lanes based on the 'vehicle' type and 'speed'. Production control services are assigned to the fast lane, while video services are allocated to the wide lane", explained Xubin, Product Manager at Yunding Technology. "When the bandwidth of a 'lane' is insufficient, flexible configurations can be implemented to meet service requirements without wasting bandwidth".

The core advantage of this technology lies in its high bandwidth and service isolation transmission. The high-bandwidth integrated bearer network, utilizing network slicing technology, establishes a broad information highway with multiple dedicated lanes. This setup integrates security observation systems, video transmission, personnel safety observation, power control, and more onto a single network, allowing all services to swiftly pass through their designated lanes. This eliminates the problems of fragmented traditional networks, network storms, and difficult O&M. Additionally, the use of Flex E slicing technology ensures isolated transmission between services, preventing interference and fundamentally addressing the broadcast storm risks of traditional networks, meeting the intelligent development needs for the next 5-10 years.

High reliability and low latency provide dual safeguards for network security. If a segment of the network "highway" is unexpectedly interrupted, the integrated bearer network utilizes its redundant ring structure and intelligent routing technology to execute network self-healing and traffic switching within 50 ms. This recovery speed is six times faster than the human blink of an eye, meeting the fundamental communication standards required for intelligent mining. To ensure the stable operation of critical systems—such as the power supply system—the integrated bearer network also delivers low latency, minimal jitter, and highly stable transmission within 10 ms.

From passive repair to intelligent O&M, the integrated bearer network facilitates a monumental leap in management efficiency. At the centralized control center of Lilou Coal Mine, engineers can monitor the network status and service quality in real time through an intelligent management platform. By automatically identifying and quickly pinpointing potential faults, the platform has reduced business failure resolution time by approximately 50% and decreased downtime by about 70%. This facilitates a new O&M mode based on the principles of "proactive prevention, precise location, and quick recovery".

A key achievement is that Lilou Coal Mine's integrated bearer network passed testing by the Coal Industry Changzhou Quality Supervision and Inspection Center for Communication and Monitoring Products, making it the first solution in China to be verified by a third-party testing organization. It has achieved industry-leading levels in key indicators such as functional integrity and performance stability. Furthermore, this technology has been included in the General Technical Specifications for Coal Mine Information Integrated Support Network by the National Energy Administration. It promotes technological innovation in traditional industries and as a result has been included in the newly revised Coal Mine Safety Rules to promote its widespread application.

As this invisible information superhighway rolls out across Shandong Energy Group’s mines—including Xinjulong Coal Mine, Jinjitan Coal Mine, and Shuangxin Coal Mine—it bridges once-isolated "network islands" into a thriving, interconnected "new continent", setting a new course for China's mining industry.