What kind of private network solution does 5G need?

MWC2021 Shanghai has fully demonstrated the achievements of 5G, making the industry full of confidence in the future of 5G. Many manufacturers, including operators, released 5G application solutions during the exhibition, especially private network solutions. After all, the goal of 5G is to change society, so in the process of empowering vertical industry enterprises, 5G private networks are considered to be a popular development direction. This year is a critical year for the development of 5G. Whether 5G vertical industry applications can be commercialized on a large scale determines whether 5G can succeed. There were also constant discussions about 5G private networks during this exhibition.

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Whether it is a battle of technology or a battle of network construction models, whether it is a public network for exclusive use or a private network for private use, the battle of 5G private networks is essentially a battle of interests. Grand View Research predicts that the global 5G private network market will reach US$919.7 million in 2020, with a compound annual growth rate of 37.8% between 2020 and 2027, and by 2036, global 5G private network spending will exceed 5G public networks.

From the perspective of communications manufacturers, 5G private networks should be built by operators. The view of GSMA is very representative. GSMA believes that no matter what network construction model is adopted for 5G private networks, operators should play a core role in it; in terms of spectrum, operators can use their larger and more diverse spectrum resources and large-scale deployment experience to build networks more effectively. After comprehensive consideration, it is the best choice to let operators build 5G private networks.

Such a view may not be widely recognized. Many IT manufacturers believe that independent operation of industry-specific networks is more in line with future development trends. European countries (such as Germany) are at the forefront of the world. Manufacturing giants such as BMW and Siemens have already obtained private network spectrum. However, some of these industry users build their own networks, while others choose operators to help them build 5G private networks. China is at the forefront of the world in 5G development and has also done a lot of exploration in 5G industry applications. In vertical industries such as mining, medical care, ports, and manufacturing, 5G application models have gradually become clear and have begun to be replicated and promoted on a large scale. It can be said that the construction and operation of 5G private networks are still in the exploratory stage. Which model is suitable for you can only be verified in practice.

For manufacturers that provide 5G private network construction solutions, no matter which model or solution, the one that can ultimately help industry users reduce costs, improve efficiency, and stabilize operations is a good model or solution. During the MWC2021 Shanghai exhibition, the 5G to B public network dedicated kite solution jointly released by Huawei, Shanxi Mobile, and Xinyan Coal Mine is a typical example.

The Kite solution is a public network dedicated solution developed based on the operator's 5G network. Through the coordination of central and edge disaster recovery, when the private network in the park loses connection with the central network, it can automatically switch to the private network emergency disaster recovery control plane, greatly improving the reliability of the 5G private network and ensuring the high availability of the enterprise production system. The Kite solution has well solved some of the problems that customers are concerned about in public network dedicated, such as network reliability, digital security and cost issues. Xinyan Coal Mine highly agrees with the 5G to B public network dedicated Kite solution, believing that the Kite solution is an overall system that ensures a low technical threshold and sinks the technology to the enterprise, so that the enterprise can operate independently and solve problems quickly. It is an effective solution.

What is a good solution? It is a low-cost, high-efficiency, and easy-to-use solution. A solution that can be used by thousands of industries is a good solution. In fact, there is no need to argue about 5G private networks. Different industries have different needs, and networks are built on demand and modes are set on demand. The key is that commercial 5G industry applications need to be implemented as soon as possible. After all, 5G has entered the stage of "high-quality development", which requires not only a network with perfect coverage, but also practical applications.