Core Network: The Brain of the Mobile Network in the game of 5G Private Network

It all started with circuit switching (CS) mobile network architecture to establish end-to-end service, primarily voice calls and SMS. Then packet switching (PS) architecture enabled efficient data transport in the form of packets. Both CS and PS architecture used different transport networks that eventually converged to all IP transport.?We labeled this generation as 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) and the core network as Evolved Packet Core (EPC). It served well to connect humans as well as humans to content.

Fast forward; connecting things/machines became imperative to enable new business opportunities for vertical industries such as automotive, healthcare, and manufacturing. Independent EPC addressed few use cases like power grids etc. But not good enough. Then came variants of EPC, the Cellular IoT (CIoT) Serving Gateway Node (C-SGN) for Massive IoT, control and user plane separation (CUPS), and Non-Stand-Alone (NSA) / EN-DC Dual connectivity (EN-DC).?

Eventually, we asked ourselves, is one core good enough? We ended up with Dedicated Core Network (DECOR, eDECOR) and experimented with virtualization/containerization at various locations in the private/public cloud, including the edge. All these learnings helped us realize in order to become vertical industry-friendly, the core network must address modularity, flexibility, extensibility, scalability, programmability, and configurability. Here comes 5G, the next-generation core network.?

Ground up, we embarked on the journey to design 5G Core combining state-of-the-art web and cloud technologies. We started implementing all native support from service-based to stateless, open API, network slicing, IP/Ethernet/unstructured transport, CUPS, and disaggregation, including support for Stand-Alone (SA)/NSA deployments and Time-Sensitive Network (TSN). As a result, we can dynamically and precisely control and automate the core network with DevOps to help best serve vertical service requirements with the?5G triangle SLAs?(i.e.) bandwidth, capacity, and latency, in real-time.?

The Game of 5G Private Network!?Is Network Slicing (NS) good enough or Dedicated Network? With NS, we can deliver the QoS service level agreements from a common physical infrastructure. We may not have to custom design and deploy dedicated networks for each vertical use case. However, adopting NS means we have to address the complexity that comes from E2E network slices, not only Core but also Radio, RAN, and Transport networks, including protection from potential overload and security breaches from other network slices.?

So, is the Dedicated Network good enough? or a combination of both? (i.e.) an augmented dedicated core network at edge connected with the operator core network. Interesting, check out?Magma's Open Core?that connects people to a faster internet via LTE, 5G, Wi-Fi, and beyond.

Bottom line, the 5G private network projects have doubled in the past year. The Incumbent service providers, alternate service providers such as private network specialists, and vendors are in the race. Also, the vertical enterprises are going down the Do It Yourselves (DIY) route seeking to take full ownership and responsibility for their 5G network solution. However, to make the projects successful requires determination, speed, the right mindset, expertise, and deeper vertical domain knowledge.?

Hands down, to play and pocket many of these 5G private network projects require an ecosystem play. What matters is having a foot in the door that gives us the ability to upsell and offer value-added services to take a bigger slice of the market. That is, we have to work together as engaged, committed, and collaborative partners to move faster, orchestrate ecosystems, execute vertical enterprises 5G strategy to capitalize on the opportunity.?

Let us Talk! Book a meeting with me at??https://calendly.com/kader-khan?or reach out at [email protected]