5G private network, analyzing the strategic layout of the three major operators

On July 24, 2021, at the 2021 China 5G Network Innovation Forum hosted by Jiangsu Future Network Innovation Research Institute and organized by SDNLAB, many guests mentioned the development and application of 5G private networks. SDNLAB has compiled this for readers.

At the meeting, Zhao Jingbo from the Industry Application Research Institute of China Telecom Research Institute said that with the deepening of digital transformation, vertical industries are facing challenges such as changes in IT architecture, cloud-network integration, cloud-edge collaboration, and OT/IT/CT integration. Traditional private network methods cannot meet the business needs of industry customers in terms of coverage, transmission capabilities, connectivity, reliability, security, and business model innovation.

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Under the traditional private network model, enterprises need to deploy multiple independent private networks from production, management, logistics to office, which has high operating costs and a long construction period. In addition, since the various types of networks come from different suppliers and different periods, the backend cannot be connected and there is interference in the frequency band.

5G private networks are highly consistent with the needs of digital transformation. They are the comprehensive integration and enhancement of OT+IT+CT, and will also be the first explosion point for 5G vertical industry applications.

According to the 3GPP standard definition, 5G private networks are divided into independent deployment mode (SNPN) and public network integration mode (PNI-NPN). The public network integration mode is further divided into "partial sharing with the public network (sharing RAN or sharing RAN and core network control plane)" and "end-to-end sharing with the public network" according to the degree of sharing with the public network.

The independent deployment mode is that the country provides dedicated 5G frequency bands for industry users to build their own 5G private networks. The public network integration mode relies on operators to build/lease private networks for enterprises using technologies such as edge computing and network slicing.

Network slicing or dedicated spectrum

Even if dedicated 5G spectrum resources are allocated, companies that want to build their own networks must also own a complete set of network assets such as base stations and core networks. The investment cost in the network construction process is very high. Ordinary companies, especially small companies, cannot afford the cost of purchasing and deploying a complete set of 5G networks. In addition, some professional operation and maintenance personnel will be needed to maintain the network in the later stage.

Enterprises build their own 5G private networks

However, the private network established in this way has good isolation, low latency, high security, and a more autonomous and controllable network environment, and does not rely on operators to provide the services they need.

Network slicing uses virtualization technology to divide the 5G core network and wireless network into multiple parts to support different services respectively, ensuring that each slice network is isolated from each other, thereby ensuring the latency and reliability of the private network.

Enterprises can customize network slicing services from operators according to their business needs. They do not need to build their own network infrastructure, which saves the cost of building the network and reduces the cost of subsequent operation and maintenance. At the same time, different network slices can be customized to share private networks to varying degrees without the need to allocate separate spectrum resources. However, the use of slicing technology is actually a virtual private network. Although the slices are not connected, the physical network, power supply, transmission system, etc. are still the same, and the security and isolation are not as high as self-built private networks.

So is it better for 5G private networks to allocate dedicated spectrum or use slicing technology?

Building a private network has certain rigid requirements on the strength of the enterprise, and dedicated spectrum is difficult to obtain. Industries with high security requirements such as public security and the military will choose the self-built private network model, while some traditional enterprises are not so strict in this regard and will choose the public network integration model using slicing technology.

Zhao Jingbo said that 5G private networks are not only an opportunity for the industry, but also an important transformation opportunity for operators. For users in different industries, it is necessary to combine specific business scenarios and business needs to build 5G private networks that meet the needs of different industries, so as to maximize the ability of 5G to enable thousands of industries.

5G private networks of the three major operators

The 5G private network services of the three major operators adopt different service models based on the needs of different customers.

China Mobile's 5G private network includes premium mode, exclusive mode, and VIP mode; China Telecom launched the 5G private network Zhiyuan mode, Bilin mode, and Ruyi mode; China Unicom launched 5G virtual private network, 5G hybrid private network, and 5G independent private network products.

China Mobile

Jiang Yi from China Mobile Communications Research Institute introduced China Mobile's 5G private network product system based on "premium, exclusive and exclusive" at the meeting.

Premium Mode

Through QoS, network slicing and other technical means, service priority protection and service isolation are achieved to meet the needs of network speed, latency, and reliability priority protection, and to achieve the effect of service logic isolation and flexible configuration on demand. This mode is aimed at most wide-area services and some local-area services, such as industrial park video surveillance, personnel and object tracking, data collection services, etc.

Exclusive Mode

Provide customized wireless networks (such as wireless network enhanced coverage) based on public networks, and use edge computing technology to achieve data traffic unloading and local business processing, meet business needs such as data not leaving the site and ultra-low latency, and provide customers with exclusive network services.

Premium Mode

The exclusive service model further meets the needs of ultra-high security, ultra-high isolation, and customized networks through the dedicated construction and use of base stations, frequencies, and core network equipment, achieving the effect of dedicated 5G networks and VIP on-site services. It is suitable for local scenarios such as mining areas and underground.

China Mobile's "Fruit Core" product is a customized integrated solution for 5G private networks based on an integrated model that integrates UPF, 5GC, edge computing, small SPN, BBU, IMS and other capabilities on demand.

The performance report for the first half of 2021 released by China Mobile shows that in the first half of the year, China Mobile signed 900 provincial regional special projects across the network, expanded 452 5G private network projects with a contract value of over 10 million yuan, and signed 122 large DICT orders, driving DICT's incremental revenue to over 6 billion yuan, and the number of government and enterprise customers reached 15.53 million.

China Mobile and Alibaba have cooperated to build a 5G smart campus private network. Based on the 5G network deployed by Hangzhou Mobile, XG Laboratory has developed a new 5G private network security architecture system, which greatly improves the security and ease of use of the 5G private network.

According to Alibaba, the DAMO Academy XG Laboratory has independently developed EAC (Enterprise Access Controller) based on the 5G core network, innovatively connecting 5G authentication information with enterprise authentication information, and building a secure, intelligent, and flexibly expandable 5G enterprise private network.

China Mobile has also cooperated with the State Grid Corporation of China to provide a systematic 5G command grid solution based on 5G SA architecture and slicing technology for the four business characteristics of Shenzhen State Grid's business, including intelligent distributed distribution automation (intelligent distributed distribution network differential protection and distribution network automation three remote controls), power grid emergency communication guarantee and distribution network metering. This case aims to explore 5G innovative services and needs for vertical industries, verify the capabilities of 5G networks and services, and lay the foundation for 5G commercial use.

China Telecom

Chen Yunqing from China Telecom Research Institute said that China Telecom's 5G private network is a comprehensive solution that integrates and collaborates with "network customization, edge intelligence, cloud collaboration, and X on demand". "Network is the foundation, cloud is the core, network follows the cloud, and cloud and network are integrated." It is committed to "cloud-to-digital transformation" to serve the digital transformation of the industry.

China Telecom has launched three models: based on the three service models of "Zhiyuan, Bilin, and Ruyi" to serve customers in different industries, and realize "cloud-network integration and on-demand customization".

Zhiyuan Mode

Zhiyuan mode is a customized network service mode for government and enterprise customers with secure networking. Based on China Telecom's 5G 2B private network resources, this mode provides end-to-end differentiated network connection services for customers in 11 industries, including transportation, logistics, education, agriculture, health care, emergency response, politics and law, resident services, housing and construction, energy, and industry, through technologies such as VPDN, QoS, flexible resource scheduling, DNN customization, and slicing. At the same time, it can directly connect to Tianyi Cloud to provide customers with a wealth of industry applications and services.

Typical case: Shenzhen smart policing

China Telecom, together with Shenzhen Public Security Bureau, has taken the lead in exploring the application combination of 5G private network technology and police practical systems, which can meet the needs of new police equipment (such as unmanned patrol cars, police AR, and police drones) for large-scale mobile video backhaul; meet the requirements of supporting three-dimensional and rapid deployment, and support the rapid deployment capability of police; meet the requirements of high reliability and secure isolation of police connections, provide private network isolation, secure networking connection, and air interface priority guarantee.

Neighborhood Mode

The neighbor mode is a customized private network service mode for latency-sensitive enterprise customers. Based on 5G 2B private network resources, this mode provides enterprise customers with a private network with enhanced bandwidth, low latency, and local data offload through flexible customization of technologies such as multi-frequency coordination, carrier aggregation, super uplink, edge nodes, QoS enhancement, wireless resource reservation, DNN, slicing, and edge nodes. In conjunction with MEC and Tianyi Cloud, it maximizes the advantages of edge computing and cloud-edge coordination, and empowers digital applications for enterprise customers.

Typical case: Guangdong Midea Smart Park

Midea has a clear direction of transformation towards personalized production and flexible manufacturing, but its current business faces many problems. China Telecom has joined hands with Midea to create an application scenario of a smart factory based on 5G+MEC support.

Wing Mode

Ruyi mode is a customized private network service mode for security-sensitive enterprise customers. This mode is based on China Telecom's 5G 2B private network resources, making full use of super uplink, interference avoidance, 5G network slicing and edge computing technologies, and customizing dedicated base stations, dedicated frequencies and dedicated campus-level UPF and other dedicated network equipment on demand, providing customers with an isolated, end-to-end high-performance private access network. At the same time, MEC and industry applications can be customized on demand, providing exclusive operation and maintenance support services for private networks.

Typical case: Qingdao State Grid

China Telecom, Huawei and Qingdao State Grid have for the first time relied on edge computing and 5G end-to-end slicing to achieve millisecond-level precise load control device load transmission and whole group transmission test. The test results show that the 5G channel delay meets the millisecond-level requirements. With the successful implementation of the test, the first millisecond-level precise load control device in the dedicated mode of 5G public network in the country was put into trial operation in Qingdao Power Supply Company.

China Unicom

Huang Rong from China Unicom Research Institute introduced that China Unicom's 5G private network is divided into three deployment methods: virtual private network, hybrid private network, and independent private network.

5G Virtual Private Network

Based on China Unicom's 5G public network resources, using end-to-end QoS or slicing technology, we provide customers with a virtual private network with guaranteed latency and bandwidth, which is isolated from ordinary user data of China Unicom's public network. It is suitable for wide-area private network services, including smart cities, smart scenic spots, new media, high-end communities and offices, and intelligent transportation (including autonomous driving).

5G hybrid private network

Based on 5G data offload technology, through flexible customization of wireless and control network elements, a basic connection network with enhanced bandwidth, low latency, and no data leaving the park is built for industry users. The core network user plane network element UPF is privately deployed for industry users, and wireless base stations and core network control plane network elements are flexibly deployed according to customer needs to provide users with a partially physically exclusive 5G private network. It is suitable for local open parks, including transportation logistics/port terminals, high-end scenic spots, urban security, industrial manufacturing, etc.

5G independent private network

Using proprietary wireless equipment and core network integrated equipment, an independent private network that is completely isolated from public network data is built end-to-end for industry users, including all network element functions of 5G systems such as gNB, AMF, SMF, UPF, MEC, etc. It is suitable for local closed areas, including mines, oil fields, nuclear power, high-precision manufacturing, prisons, and the military.

800 meters underground in the Pangpangta Coal Mine in Huozhou, Shanxi Province, China Unicom built the country's first underground 5G private network, solving the problem of safe production in the coal mining industry.

China Unicom also cooperated with the Zhanjiang Iron and Steel case. The business first reached the company's 5G core network through the base station's dedicated wireless channel, and then was routed to its own business server, thus achieving the isolation of corporate business and public network business.

Zhanjiang Iron and Steel has built an intelligent steel factory technology platform by investing in the construction of a 5G core network. It has currently realized application scenarios such as online detection and diagnosis of steel plant fans, four major coke oven vehicles, mobile control of silicon steel, remote control of robots, and remote guidance of smart helmets.

At this point, I believe everyone has a certain understanding of the 5G private network architecture. In fact, the 5G private network architectures of the three major operators are basically the same, and can flexibly meet the differentiated demands of industry customers.

challenge

The 5G private network market has huge potential, and the number of deployment cases is increasing, but it also faces some challenges.

1. Whether an enterprise can build its own 5G private network depends most on spectrum acquisition. Spectrum resources are limited and not available on demand. In most countries, spectrum is considered a natural resource and its use is controlled by national authorities, who allocate resources based on national needs. GSMA recommends that regulators avoid reserving spectrum for vertical markets in key frequency bands, as it believes that such an approach will hinder the full release of 5G's maximum utilization efficiency and waste spectrum resources.
2. The demands of industry projects in the market vary greatly, and product standardization is insufficient. It is difficult for operators to quickly build solutions and launch them for specific projects.
3. Zhao Jingbo said that the ToB capabilities of 5G private networks are still incomplete, and the shortcomings need to be gradually made up: the differentiated capabilities of 5G networks are incomplete; industry and scenario-based solutions have not been productized; customized planning, construction, maintenance and operation need to be improved; and business models need to be innovated.

Despite the challenges, 5G private networks have great development prospects overall. GrandView Research expects the global 5G private network market size to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 37.8% between 2020 and 2027, reaching US$7.1 billion in 2027.

Market competition is also very fierce. In addition to operators, cloud service providers, equipment providers, system integrators, etc. are all interested in seizing the 5G private network market. I believe that with the upgrading of technology, 5G private networks will show a booming development trend in various industries in the future.