FEATURE : MOBILE TECHNOLOGY
towards it , with each experiencing its own unique challenges in getting there .
Key to Industry 4.0 , and the converged world more generally , is connectivity . Any underlying network must support these applications by providing required throughput and latency with guaranteed availability and security to avoid disrupting business operations . Public 5G ensures that consumer applications are catered to accordingly . But in industry , connectivity and low latency are as critical as is security , quality of service and mobility . They need wireless , consistent and highcapacity connectivity .
So , the question to CEOs and CIOs is : What about a private alternative ?
Converged world , complex requirements
Private 5G has the potential to deliver the performance , reliability , scalability and security that a Wi-Fi-based network simply cannot . The emergence of private 5G as a potential answer is not new , with private 5G deployments predicted to be deployed back in 2020 , but it ’ s expected to ramp up in earnest this year and beyond . Even some governments are getting on the bandwagon , with the French and German governments recently announcing joint funding of four private 5G projects to enable a ‘ European ecosystem for private networks in the field of 5G telecommunications ’.
The primary force driving the adoption of private 5G is industry ’ s focus on leveraging digitisation to improve process efficiency , Business Continuity and agility , operational safety and sustainability . However , deployments of private 5G don ’ t come without their own challenges .
For one , spectrum licensing has historically been an extremely expensive obstacle to deploying private wireless networks – hence the widespread adoption of natively unlicensed Wi-Fi . Recently , however , regulators in multiple countries have acknowledged the potential of private 5G for industry progress and are making local or shared spectrum available for enterprise use with encouraging economics .
Another considerable barrier for private cellular adoption has been its inherent complexity . Enterprises ’ IT staff typically lack the requisite understanding to design , deploy and manage the myriad of complex 4G / LTE and 5G technologies , such as specialised radio access network ( RAN ) elements and core software .
Fortunately , the 5G ecosystem is moving towards openness , disaggregation and virtualisation – an evolution that suits the potential for private 5G .
The gift for Industry 4.0 : Private 5G ?
Virtualised RAN elements and mobile core functions can potentially be deployed using high-performance
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