Enterprises are joining in one after another, rapidly expanding the 5G private network "circle of friends"

As we enter 2021, the industry is increasingly calling for 5G private networks, which are moving toward a stage where technology is mature and applications are flourishing.

In foreign countries, countries such as Germany, Japan, and the United Kingdom have already introduced policies on private networks and supporting frequencies. In particular, a large number of leading companies in vertical industries in Germany have applied for 5G private network frequencies and started the construction of enterprise 5G private networks. In China, in March 2020, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued the "Notice on Promoting the Accelerated Development of 5G", which clearly stated: "Carry out research on 5G industry-specific frequency planning and implement technical test frequency licenses in a timely manner." This move shows that regulatory authorities are also gradually promoting the commercial use of 5G private networks, and 5G frequency policies will gradually be implemented.

As policy dividends are released, equipment manufacturers, private network manufacturers and Internet companies have ushered in a new "blue ocean".

Equipment manufacturers are entering the 5G private network

Since the frequency of 5G industry private network in my country has not been issued yet, 5G services are currently provided to industry users mainly by relying on 5G industry virtual private network to meet various industry requirements. 5G industry virtual private network needs to logically divide public network resources and use end-to-end QoS, edge computing and network slicing technology to achieve data isolation between private network and public network.

In the upstream and downstream industrial chains of 5G industry virtual private networks, equipment manufacturers are the indispensable "main force". Huawei has launched a series of cooperation and deployment practices on 5G industry virtual private networks with operators and industry partners in multiple fields such as industrial manufacturing, electricity, ports, and medical care, and has been widely recognized by the industry. ZTE launched the i5GC miniaturized 5G core network solution for 5G industry private networks, which quickly introduced 5G capabilities such as large bandwidth, low latency, high reliability, and multiple connections to various industries, and integrated AI, IoT, cloud computing, big data, MEC and other technologies to enable the digitization of the entire industry and build a fully connected intelligent 5G industry private network.

Ericsson released a 5G RAN slicing software solution to support customized business models and growing use case requirements in private networks, critical communication tasks, and critical IoT. Inspur launched the Yunyi 5G Cloud Network Integrated All-in-One (iAIO), which is aimed at the 5G to B market (such as high-end equipment manufacturing, ports, large factories, power grids and other industry customers with extremely high data security requirements). It includes edge LaaS, PaaS, base stations, and core networks to open up the "last mile" computing and network connection needs of industry customers and help industry customers with digital transformation.

In the face of new 5G industry applications, Guan Bao, general manager of the broadband system business unit of private network manufacturer Hytera Communications, said that Hytera will adhere to the concept of openness and innovation, and based on its comprehensive strength in marketing, R&D, production and engineering, provide operators, virtual operators, integrators, equipment manufacturers and other relevant customers with comprehensive, end-to-end technical service capabilities and innovative cooperation models, so as to better serve customers in all links of the industry.

What are the business strategies of Internet vendors for 5G private networks?

For Internet giants, various manufacturers have entered the to B field in recent years, and industrial Internet has become the second half of the Internet giants. 5G private network is an important tool for providing high-quality services to to B customers. Internet companies actively participate in the construction of 5G private networks, which can not only increase their competitiveness in the field of industrial Internet, but also learn from relevant technologies in countries such as Germany and Japan, and assist special institutions in establishing physical private networks under the background of virtual private network construction (?).

Alibaba and China Mobile jointly promote innovative 5G private networks. On March 10, 2020, Alibaba's DAMO Academy established the XG Lab to conduct collaborative research and development of 5G technologies and applications. On May 15 of the same year, the 5G smart campus private network jointly built by Alibaba and China Mobile was officially put into use. Based on the 5G network deployed by Hangzhou Mobile, the XG Lab has realized the connection between 5G authentication information and enterprise authentication information through the self-developed EAC (Enterprise Access Controller) based on the 5G core network, and built a secure, intelligent, and flexibly expandable 5G enterprise private network. This is a brand-new 5G private network security architecture system that can greatly improve the security and usability of 5G private networks.

Tencent has also explored 5G private networks. Previously, Tencent promoted the deployment of a LoRa network with nearly 1,000 base stations, which became an important tool for it to provide IoT services to B customers. 5G private networks and LoRa networks have similar functions. Many cases released by Tencent are pilot projects based on 5G private networks.

In the future, 5G private networks will be widely used in a large number of vertical industries. According to data from market research firm ABI Research, by 2036, the expenditure on 5G private networks will exceed that on 5G public networks. From this data, we can see that 5G private networks do have the potential to share the world with public networks. In many fields such as 5G edge computing, core networks, and private networks, Internet giants have already appeared, and they are demonstrating their extraordinary strength in the field of 5G infrastructure construction in their own way.

Different from previous mobile communication technologies, 5G is more inclusive, which is not only reflected in the absorption of various technological essences, but also in giving more market players the opportunity to participate. The upstream and downstream of the industrial chain are rapidly expanding their "circle of friends" to jointly provide high-quality network services to industry customers and help upgrade the industry.