Contents
Introduction to 5G Network
5G Network
Massive digital transformations have taken place across various sectors and industries enabled by tools such as A.I. applications, IoT sensors, and automation, which require advanced connectivity and network solutions.
A new Gartner report states a third of organizations with implemented IoT applications will adopt A.I. alongside at least one IoT project by 2023. Another report by Gartner outlines that the 5G network constituted 39% of total wireless infrastructure revenue.
While the enterprise space belonged to Wifi, cellular technology has taken over to fill in those gaps powered by 4G LTE or 5G network due to well-known challenges such as coverage, reliability, and security.
When used inside an enterprise’s facility, cellular technology can be an extremely reliable tool. If deployed and managed correctly, it can provide reliable and secure solutions to connect critical assets. An adjoining report by Gartner concludes that the revenue forecast for worldwide wireless network infrastructure will cross $49 million in 2022.
Enterprise 5G Network
Enterprise 5G: An enterprise requires connectivity across all its assets, including industrial sites, industrial campuses, and field areas, for example, the grid for a power utility or the rail for a train company. Technologies such as cloud, automation, and edge computing are fundamental enablers for private 5G and LTE. As the Gartner report suggests, tech project managers should focus on 5G networks with radio, core slicing, edge computing infrastructure, and private network services to fully utilize 5G infrastructure solutions.
What is a Private 5G Network & What are the Different Deployments?
Private 5G Network
A private 5G network is a dedicated network for enterprises, which is physically separated from the wide-area macro networks and used for specific IoT applications. It can serve the mining, industrial manufacturing, automotive manufacturing, smart cities, utility metering, logistics, transportation hubs, etc.
There are a few different ways to set up private networks, such as license, unlicensed, or shared spectrum; each offers its benefits depending on the use case.
The private wireless network is a small network scaled down to the enterprise size to fit its specific security, latency, and throughput requirements. This can be both in terms of coverage and capacity and provide maximum availability, reliability, control, and data privacy on-site. Thus today, wireless 5G technology networks have become attractive and seen as a growth market for vendors and mobile operators.
As reflected in a recent report by Gartner, private enterprise 5G networks are one of the key emerging trends, which will reach the plateau of productivity on the hype cycle in the next five-ten years. Ahead are the different deployment scenarios for the private enterprise 5G network and how they can benefit the enterprise:
Independent Private Enterprise 5G Network
- Isolation from outside mobile network operators (MNOs), with high security and quality-of-service, no sharing.
Dependent Private Enterprise 5G Network
- Independently formed at enterprise, hybrid with a radio access network (RAN) and spectrum sharing, limited sharing with MNO (user and network control.)
- Customized network slicing between public and private networks (enterprise-specific applications), shared network architecture.
According to Gartner’s emerging roadmap (2021-2023), 5G services are in-pilot mode and present a high deployment risk, while Wifi 6 will complete deployment in 2022, with a moderate-level chance.
Different Technologies for Enterprises
Various requirements in the same industrial site span from information technology (I.T.) to operational technology (O.T.), which differ based on the teams. On the I.T. side, enterprises need to provide connectivity to the employee mobile services such as 4G or 5G when they’re at work on-site. At the same time, enterprises control local area networks (LAN) and Wifi to provide connectivity for day-to-day business applications.
Private wireless networks are better suited for taking the space in the I.T. domain and can meet the O.T. application’s demands. Tech firm Omdia recently reported that Private 5G/LTE will likely generate 5 billion dollars of global enterprise expenditure between 2020-2025.
Why Does an Enterprise Need a Private Network?
- It optimizes enterprise business processes.
- It offers broad coverage, especially in remote areas without a public network.
- It helps determine security and service policies for all devices.
- It keeps all data on-premise
- It allows only authenticated devices to operate over the network.
- It’s fully secure, offers better coverage and outdoor performance, higher reliability, and scalability (compared to Wifi.)
Enterprise 5G Network Use Cases
5G will bring over time fantastic capability when it comes to enterprise use cases. As per research by Nokia labs, the 4.9G network, the latest generation of 4G/LTE, service providers can support over 85% of industrial use cases.
Enterprises can use private wireless 5G technology network solutions for all applications. Starting from utilities that need to adapt how to generate power with more distributed types of power supply with wind and solar farms, or having to balance loads and production, the change in production for all renewable sides.
In the case of the mining place, they have to guarantee employee safety and site security, all the way to enhance their efficiency with more automation, for instance, autonomous trucks. In the case of airports, the different enterprises working on below-the-wing processes to prepare the plane, can be better coordinated to make the airport more efficient. The same applies to ports, effectively applying technology with all processes automated, from the container’s receipt to their dispatch.
In the case of manufacturing, although it’s advanced in terms of automation, enterprises can still gain a lot by implementing wireless 5G technology when it comes to flexibility and adapting their productions. Ahead is a list of enterprises’ use cases in different industries:
- Manufacturing – Smart factories, supply chain
- Energy & Utilities – Smart energy, power generation, oil and gas
- Automotive – Connected and autonomous cars, in-car infotainment
- Financial Services – Smart banking, insurance, securities
- Retail – eCommerce (delivery services, drones)
Private wireless 5G technology network will provide a platform for the next industrial revolution. Specifically suited for industrial and manufacturing settings, private 5G/LTE networks offer enterprises access to a more secure, scalable, and resilient network. It’s equipped with the challenge as enterprises look for ways to support new IoT applications, emphasize security, and reliably process higher volumes of data with ultra-reliable lower latency.
A private 5G network is a natural evolution from private LTE, which currently lays the foundation for private 5G. STL Tech offers a one-stop solution that provides global expertise in large-scale network creation, deployment, and management. It’s uniquely tailored for your E2E solutions, with a high ROI and 35% cost savings.
Recently, Gartner recognized STL in the ‘2022 Competitive Guide for 5G Small Cell Equipment Vendors’ list. As per their statement, STL has a ‘high degree of visibility and traction in the CSP 5G small cell market, which continues to impact their GTM strategy and competitiveness.’
