Why do we need the private 5G network if there are WiFi solutions available?

This is what first comes to mind when someone looks at a private 5G network (Non-Public Networks by 3GPP definition) concept at first times. WiFi is commonly perceived as something simpler and cheaper than a 5G network. This is a biased perspective that is rooted in the era of proprietary technology.

Considering the current state of technology, you can even launch a 5G network in a home lab by leveraging open source projects such as Magma and O-RAN

I may be exaggerating the simplicity, things become more complicated at scale, but the idea is clear: scale changes everything.

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What about the number of deployed private network?

The Global mobile Supplies Association (GSA) has the?global total?for enterprises (!) with?serious-sized publicly-referenced private network at around 1,000 (plus), as of December 2022. Manufacturing, education and mining remain the three largest sectors for customer references. So it is very clearly, this is early-days.

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Wi-Fi technology is currently the dominant technology for enterprise connectivity, but several driving forces, both in various industries and in telecommunications, are challenging this status.

?Business logic suggests that verticals consider transitioning to 5G when they face technical limitations with existing WiFi and skyrocketing Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) due to a zoo of technologies. For mobile network operators (MNOs), these challenges in verticals present a great opportunity to diversify beyond B2C services, because the true value of 5G lies more in the B2B rather than the B2C market.

The Industry 4.0 trend towards fully autonomous operations requires a reliable and deterministic connectivity environment in three dimensions, especially considering the increasing use of drones. In other words, verticals need an industrial internet, and the term 'deterministic' is key here?

?If we design the enterprise grade solution the scale what is really matter.? Every standard has been designed under defined limited condition and scale.

So let’s look on this challenge through wireless network planning lens with final goal to get deterministic network that covers significant defined area.

?Let's take a look at a brief benchmark of the standards

?Сharacteristics

Planning any network must meet the following key requirements

• ?Coverage at or above the minimum level must be guaranteed in the defined area for both indoor and outdoor scenarios: Сharacteristics?-Max Output Power and Spectrum;
• The network's capacity must meet the requirements for speed and latency of the services: Сharacteristics?-Devices density, Time critical communication and QoS;
• The service reliability and continuity?must be provided: Сharacteristics?- Mobility and Reliability,Spectrum.

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By analyzing private network business goals through the above mentioned dimensions, you can take several steps closer to understanding which technological path to follow: 5G or WiFi6:

• The first tangible benefits of 5G over WiFi6 are closely related to the coverage area and the mobility of connected agents within this area. The coverage models for 5G and WiFi6 will likely define your choice when comparing one gNodeB to several tens of Acees Points (APs)

Try to imagine how to provide WiFi guaranteed coverage for the following objects

• ?As you know system architecture shapes the operational complexity and it is additional benefit of 5G

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Additional planning variables will determine the choice

If your requirements are latency and reliability guaranty you have to consider Rel-16 5G?URLLC (achieve amazing 99,9999% reliability and extremely low latency of approximately 1 millisecond) with Coordinated Multi Points (CoMP)).

It also upports the LAN-type?(especially?seamless integration?with IEEE Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN))?services.

A 5G private network can be highly abstracted as a TSN bridge without delay and losses, which is beyond the capability of WiFi6

If your requirement is reliability over a significant area, you should pay additional attention to external interference. Only a licensed spectrum (Characteristics - Spectrum) can provide full protection. Network isolation from a spectrum perspective is often overlooked, but you can guarantee service SLA only in a closed, isolated system.

If your requirement involves the mobility of connected agents, precision positioning is a must-have. Your main concern should be the indoor environment. Rel-16 5G defines 5G Location and Positioning Services, offering positioning accuracy down to the meter, decimeter, and centimeter.

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Generally speaking, it all comes down to scale and QoS guarantees. If you need a large-scale network with deterministic SLA, your choice should be 5G

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5G or WiFI6? I don't like such binary definitions of choice because they often represent incorrect problem framing. Transitioning smoothly to a convergent solution is complex but the right approach.

5G should be viewed as a communication-enabling platform, which integrates a variety of use cases through different access media. For example, 5GC is designed with N3IWF, which provides a secure gateway to 5GC for non-3GPP access technologies, like WiFi in the current context.

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5G Private nework deployment

? There are several private 5G network deployment models, but I find it hard to believe that industries will create internal telecom teams to follow independent deployment.

The first initial challenges:

• The first issue that must be addressed is whether the spectrum is available. Spectrum is generally the biggest challenge in wireless network deployment. It is bound by legislation, and in most countries, its allocation is not a liberal decision.
• Deploying a 5G private network is also a new area of expertise for various industries, and partnering with a Mobile Network Operator (MNO) appears to be a natural strategy for mitigating risk and reducing CAPEX/OPEX. Generally speaking, in the early stages, it is better to use telecom-managed Private Networks-as-a-Service (PNaaS).

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The MNO will launch a dedicated gNodeB in their licensed spectrum bands and integrate it with a customized slice on 5GC. Ideally, the UPF should be collocated on the MEC platform to achieve lower latency and maintain data privacy.

Cooperation with the MNO can also mitigate the 'border issue' in wireless networks by enabling handover to the public network.

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The GSMA believes network slicing will play a critical role in industrial innovation. It predicts that up to 40 percent of corporates could be served via private mobile networks by 2025.

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Medium- and small-sized enterprises (SMEs) may have concerns about the economic feasibility of such dedicated networks. SMEs need a solution with lightweight deployment costs. Market offers several solutions for SME.

For example, the ZTE NodeEngine solution is developed atop the ZTE IT BBU platform, requiring just one additional board to be integrated into the BBU. The?BBU is activated as the wireless brain of 5G private network, providing local traffic offloading, local service identification, adaptive scheduling orchestration, visualized operation & maintenance ect.

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The independent deployment is most interesting option that can disturb the MNOs business models

?If the spectrum can be acquired?the independent deployment is option and?deployment possibilities are widening?because many newcomers are challenging?the 5G market now.

For example, 0-RAN Alliance, AWS Telco Network Builder (AWS TNB), Google Cloud for Telecom, IBM Telco Network Cloud Manager?and Magma Project under Linux Foundation. ?

Traditional telco vendors also adjust porfolio to meet new market demands. ZTE, for example, has released?i5GC (industry 5GC) network solution oriented to private 5G networks for industry. I5GC?can be deployed on 2U general servers to achieve the integration of multiple network functions (NF) and a plug-and-play deployment mode.

The independent deployment option, combined with a broad-range solution portfolio, leads to the emergence of a new business model - Private 5G network integrator,, Celona for example.

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Conclusion

?If your business goals require an environment with deterministic connectivity, it is the right time to consider the move to private 5G. 5G deployment is expected to decrease in price in the short term because all market players want to profit from B2B use cases

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