What are the 5G private network applications? Do you know?
At present, 5G network construction has entered the fast lane, and public communication networks (public networks) are developing at an unprecedented rate. In life, people use the mobile phone to make calls and browse information on the web, all with the help of the public network.
However, as the application requirements of various industries continue to change, some companies hope to obtain all the control rights, high reliability, security, privacy, etc. of the 5G network. The public network cannot fully meet these specific needs.
To leverage the 5G to Business market, deploying 5G private networks for the industry is an inevitable move. The deployment of 5G private networks is an indispensable means for vertical industries to promote 5G innovative applications, expand production efficiency, and accelerate digital transformation.
5G private network is a kind of local area network (LAN), which is a private network created by using 5G technology with unified connectivity, optimized service functions, and ensuring communication security in a specific area. It is used for specific users in the organization, management, production, scheduling, and other links. Provide professional communication services.
In the 5G era, in the face of new opportunities in the private network market, who is the promoter of 5G private networks? Who will support 5G applications? Which technology can drive 5G private networks to truly realize intelligence and cloudification?
The new 5G private network application, new opportunities, 5G to Business is the time
With economic and social development, as well as public safety incidents receiving widespread attention worldwide, the application of private network communication equipment has become increasingly popular, and the global private network communication market will continue to develop steadily.
However, it is worth noting that private networks are not a concept that only exists in the 5G era. Private networks have been used as early as in the 2G/3G/4G era. But why in the 5G era, there is a debate about whether to build a private network or a public network. ?
The reason is that before the 4G era, due to the limitations of the network’s own conditions, the “skills” of the private network could not be fully utilized. In the 5G era, the characteristics of large bandwidth (eMBB), high reliability and low latency (uRLLC), and wide connection (mMTC) (especially the latter two) make it possible to interconnect all things, and the role of private networks is prominent, realizing intelligence for traditional industries And digital transformation provides the conditions.
As we all know, the greatest value of 5G lies in Business. Miao Wei, former minister of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, recently stated that about 20% of 5G application scenarios are to C and 80% to B.
To leverage the 5G to B market, 5G private networks must be deployed for the industry. Consulting agency Grand View Research predicts that the global 5G private network market will reach US$919.7 million in 2020, and the compound annual growth rate from 2020 to 2027 will reach 37.8%. And by 2036, the global 5G private network spending will exceed the 5G public network.
In countries where the development of the public network is relatively mature, the development of its private network has also achieved a certain scale and has produced good economic benefits. Take the European manufacturing powerhouse Germany as an example.
It not only allocated a dedicated frequency band from 3.7GHz to 3.8GHz for 5G private networks but also opened a ten-year use right application for enterprise users in November 2019, mainly for industry 4.0 and agriculture, and forestry. At present, 33 companies including Bosch, BMW, Volkswagen, BASF, and Lufthansa have applied for 5G private network frequency bands.
In China, 5G private networks mainly rely on operators’ network frequency band construction. The 5G private network projects of the four major operators have all landed and blossomed.
On March 24, 2020, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued the “Notice on Promoting the Accelerated Development of 5G”, proposing to organize research and pilot projects of virtual private networks in the 5G industry and open up key links such as standards, technology, applications, and deployment. A series of national policies and measures have played a positive role in promoting the implementation of 5G private networks.
For most enterprises, the integrated deployment of 5G public networks and private networks can shorten the construction period and greatly reduce costs. IDC, a market research organization, predicts that by 2023, 60% of China’s top 1,000 vertical industries (such as manufacturing, logistics, etc.) will develop applications based on 5G private networks to ensure data controllability and security.
Dedicated frequency or network slicing? Both paths have their pros and cons
Although the industry has realized the importance of 5G private network construction, 5G private network construction still faces considerable challenges.
The first is the problem of the spectrum. Spectrum resources are limited. In most countries, the competent authority allocates resources according to the needs of the industry.
Second, the networking methods of 5G private networks, as well as MEC, network slicing, and other technologies are still in the active exploration stage, so network construction And operation and maintenance costs are high.
Finally, the 5G industry chain is not yet mature, the stability of industrial terminals and modules needs to be improved, and there is room for a certain drop in prices; finally, business models and application cases are still relatively limited.
At present, many industrial enterprises hope to have completely independent networks, and many countries have also adopted the practice of allocating dedicated spectrum resources to industries. At the same time, operators are increasingly willing to lease frequency bands to industry customers to keep up with the rapidly developing market.
In theory, there are two major branches for 5G private networks to enter the vertical industry. One is that operators use network slicing technology to use UPF shunting to directly transmit user data to the user’s intranet; the other is that the state provides dedicated 5G frequency bands for Industry users to build their own 5G private networks.
The content of the 5G private network in Guangdong, China is mainly to build more than 10 5G private networks, apply for 1.4GHz and other relevant frequency bands, explore 5G private network pilot applications in multiple key areas, and support the research and development of 5G private network equipment.
Guangdong is the first province in China to apply for the construction of 5G private network frequency bands, while abroad, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Japan have allocated regional 5G dedicated spectrum resources for industrial users.
For example, Germany allocated some frequencies in the 3.8GHz frequency band to manufacturing Japan has reserved the 4.6GHz~4.8GHz frequency band for 5G dedicated networks. Prior to this, Japan’s Fujitsu announced the official commercial use of its self-built 5G private network, which has also received widespread attention from the industry.
It is difficult for European companies to operate 5G private networks after obtaining spectrum, and finally, the network is still handed over to operators for construction. This shows that the 5G private network and private frequency still need a variety of models for development. The original intention of 5G is to fill the information gap in the industry and meet the high reliability, low latency, and other performance required by the industry, and network slicing is a good choice.
So is the 5G private network better to use slicing technology or to allocate dedicated spectrum?
According to industry insiders, the use of operators’ slicing technology is actually a virtual private network, because the frequency of the private network is not used. Although on different slices, the physical network is still the same, and the power supply and transmission systems are also the same. It is not a private network in the true sense.
In the future, it is still unknown whether this kind of network is fully competent in the face of public safety, emergency command, railway or subway signal dispatching, and other industries that require extremely high security. Especially for industries with high latency and reliability requirements, dedicated frequencies must be used, because private networks using slicing technology may not be able to guarantee these two indicators.
5G private networks are mainly used to replace corporate intranets, and corporate intranets have not always been the business revenue focus of operators. What’s more, which method vertical industry customers choose to build 5G private networks needs to consider their own technology and economic aspects.
Therefore, whether it is the self-built dedicated frequency or providing services through network slicing, there are advantages and disadvantages to the penetration of 5G private networks into the industry.
5G Private Network Applications Operators will take the heavy responsibility
The positioning of 5G in the industry is not only a communication channel but also focuses on connection and data transmission and applications. It will be combined with cameras, AI, and industrial equipment to exert greater application value.
5G private network products can best reflect the advantages of 5G. Operators should give full play to their advantages in technology and industry to create standardized products for 5G private networks to meet the needs of industrial customers.
At present, from the perspective of operating mode, virtual private networks are mainly constructed by operators and enterprises pay for use. China’s three major telecommunications operators have all launched their own private network solutions, private network platforms, and development paths.
For the to B and to C markets, China Mobile adopts independent deployment of core networks, wireless sharing is mainly dedicated on-demand, and shared transmission resources are isolated on demand. That is, B and C each independently deploy core networks and the two are interoperable.
Meet the requirements of slicing redirection; share the transmission network, divide transmission resources for to B applications through SPN soft and hard isolation methods according to needs; share the overall wireless, only provide dedicated wireless resources through dedicated base stations or partition dedicated frequency bands in specific demand scenarios.
In the face of market development needs, China Telecom believes that the 5G private network service is not only a communication network, but also a comprehensive customized solution integrating network, cloud computing, edge computing, and application platforms.
China Telecom’s 5G customized network is a comprehensive solution integrating “network customization, edge intelligence, cloud collaboration, and X-on-demand” integration and collaboration. The goal is to create integrated customized services for industry customers and realize cloud-network integration and on-demand customization.
The trend of the 5G network evolution is network element virtualization, open architecture, and intelligent orchestration. This provides a strong technical guarantee for the flexibility and customization of 5G private network service capabilities.
China Unicom’s 5G private network products are based on different application scenarios. Carry out customized design, provide a comprehensive private network with 5G as the core technology, integrate slicing, MEC, and other technologies, and provide industry users with customized resources, service quality assurance, and business isolation boutique security networks, including 5G virtual private networks, 5G hybrid private network, and 5G independent private network.
It can be seen that the 5G private network architecture of China’s three major operators is basically the same, and they can flexibly meet the differentiated demands of industry customers.
In the future, with the involvement of Internet companies in the integration of 5G-related industries, 5G private networks will not only be provided by operators, but Internet companies can also provide enterprises with services such as 5G core networks or business platforms, expanding more industry application dimensions, and enriching.
At the same time as the application of 5G, the industry chain of 5G private network-related equipment will flourish.
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