Five elements for building a private 5G network

5G is the first technology to be associated with ‘digital transformation.’ It is often referred to as a ‘mobile edge’ technology, which will be deployed at the edge and will enable many interesting use cases including Industry 4.0.

The three major technology enablers promised by 5G are: eMBB (enhanced mobile broadband), URLLC (ultra-reliable low latency communications) and mMTC (massive machine type communications). All of these technology enablers can be perfectly applied to the digital transformation of various industries, including manufacturing, healthcare, education, defense, utilities, smart cities, etc.

Benefits of Private 5G Networks

Private 5G networks are local cellular networks owned and operated by individual organizations, rather than relying on public cellular infrastructure provided by traditional network operators. These networks are designed to serve specific organizations or limited geographic areas.

Wi-Fi is the primary wireless technology used by industry and other businesses today. Private 5G networks offer higher speeds and lower latency than traditional networks. This means faster data transfer, improved real-time communications, and seamless connectivity, enabling businesses to take advantage of applications that require high performance.

With dedicated infrastructure and localized coverage, private 5G networks offer greater reliability and security. They can be optimized for mission-critical applications, ensuring uninterrupted connectivity even in challenging environments. These networks are isolated from public networks, providing an additional layer of protection against cyber threats and unauthorized access.

Private 5G networks also have the ability to handle a large number of devices at the same time. This is particularly important for applications such as industrial IoT, smart cities and autonomous vehicles, which require seamless connection and coordination of large numbers of devices.

How to build a dedicated 5G network

A digital transformation solution using private 5G consists of five key elements.

UE (User Equipment): refers to the end-user device or equipment connected to the 5G network. The terminal can be any device capable of communicating over the network, such as smartphones, tablets, laptops, 5G-enabled cameras, IoT gateways, 5G modems, fixed CPE, plug-in terminals (dongles, Mi-Fi devices, video bridges), chipsets/modules. In 5G networks, SIM/eSIM is the component that acts as the terminal identity.

Spectrum and SAS (Spectrum Access System): Spectrum availability is one of the key drivers for enabling private 5G deployments. The Spectrum Access System (SAS) is responsible for managing and authorizing access to the radio spectrum, ensuring efficient and interference-free sharing among different users. The SAS determines the availability of spectrum in a specific geographic area and time. Based on the spectrum availability, the SAS allocates specific channels or bandwidth portions to devices.

Radio/CBSD: CBSDs (Citizens Broadband Radio Service Devices) are devices used to access spectrum and provide radio coverage and capacity. They can be thought of as equivalent to access points, which radiate RF power, have antenna characteristics, and are located.

Two categories are defined:

Class A (indoor, low power (maximum EIRP: 30dBm, <1W/10MHz, self-installed, outdoor antenna height limit is 6m), and Class B (outdoor, high power (47dBm/10MHz), professional installation).

Core Network: They can be considered as smart routers that also perform UE authentication. Network management systems can also be included in the core infrastructure deployment.

Edge applications: These are the applications that drive the use of private 5G networks. These applications can be based on AR/VR, video analytics, edge machine learning inference, or any other application that uses a high-throughput, low-latency private 5G network to connect to the UE.

in conclusion

As deployments of private 5G networks continue to expand, we can foresee an unprecedented era of innovation, automation, and connectivity that will reshape industries and pave the way for a more connected future.