The programmability and flexibility of 5G enable non-traditional operators, especially infrastructure providers, to provide private cellular services, particularly where it is possible to use unlicensed use of the 5G spectrum.
A few days ago, Nokia and Volkswagen announced that the cellular infrastructure provider had installed a 5G private network in the automaker’s main manufacturing facility in Wolfsburg, Germany.
The private campus network uses the Nokia Digital Automation Cloud (DAC) solution to provide reliable, secure, real-time connectivity and enable Volkswagen to trial new smart factory use cases. The private network allows Volkswagen to test new use cases that include wireless uploading data to manufactured vehicles and intelligent networking of robots and wireless assembly tools.
A dedicated 3.7-3.8 GHz band connects all the nodes. Volkswagen applied for a special permit to use the spectrum and got approval from the Federal Network Agency (the German equivalent of the FCC).
The deployment also ensures that all data remains on the campus, processed at the network edge in real-time, giving Volkswagen complete control of the information and connectivity.
4G LTE connectivity and solutions such as LTE-M and NB-IoT made it affordable and sustainable to use cellular networks for many applications. However, for critical applications, 5G New Radio (5G NR) technologies, with high speeds and low latency, are now stable enough for industrial, mining, healthcare, defense, and other sectors to consider private cellular networks in their facilities.
Private networks are crucial to reach massive industrial automation
According to the research report, “Rise of the Smarter, Swifter, Safer Production Employee,” recently published by Ericsson, most manufacturing enterprises expect to be at least 80 percent automated within ten years, with many hoping to see at least a two-fold rise in the use of ICT-enabled tools within the next five years.
Almost two-thirds of the surveyed manufacturers expect to reach at least 80% of automation within ten years. Despite that, over 50% of their production staff believe that more people will be needed in similar roles by 2030, and only 20% think many of their jobs will disappear.
The report finds that most manufacturing enterprises have emerged unharmed from the worst effects of the global Covid-19 pandemic. However, in response to tough international competition and constant pressures to increase productivity and efficiency, as many as eight-in-10 manufacturing enterprises say they currently operate under cost-cutting targets.
As the cellular carriers are slow to react, infrastructure providers are jumping in
Juniper Research puts both Nokia and Ericsson as leaders in the private cellular business.
According to Juniper Research, “our study found that traditional cellular network operators are often behind in the roll-out of private network capabilities, which has allowed other providers to step into the role. The most successful players here are network vendors with equipment channels that they can use to enter the market. The flexible nature of 5G has enabled many non-traditional operators to provide private cellular services, particularly where regulation allows for unlicensed use of 5G spectrum.” says the press release.
Recently, Ericsson published their November 2021 Mobility Report, which features a mining company in Mexico deploying a private network covering three underground copper mines with operations down to a depth of nearly 1 km.
Ericsson, which generally doesn’t talk about their private network business, has been busy selling those to several large corporate clients. In June, it launched Ericsson Private 5G, a new, next-generation private cellular 4G and 5G network tailored to drive Industry 4.0 and the digital transformation of industrial sectors.
The infrastructure providers have jumped into that lucrative market because of free and unlicensed spectrum availability in several regions. Additionally, traditional cellular service providers (CSPs) are usually slow launching new businesses, and 5G offers a new trove of functionality, including network slicing, programmability, and massive IoT support.
CSPs, which are technically capable, have not trained their sales staff to address the needs of their industrial customers. Their salespeople, many close to retirement, are used to promote more legacy services such as voice and data.
Tom Loozen, EY’s Global Telecommunications Leader, told us during MWC2021 that cellular operators need to step up their efforts in providing private network solutions. Otherwise, he argued that other, more aggressive system integrators would continue eating their lunch.
“I think there is really a tremendous opportunity for telcos to step into that more aggressively. It does require them to build out their capability with more of an enterprise-specific solution team that puts together the solutions, the architecture, the quotes, and who then delivers it.” he said.
