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As enterprises accelerate the automation and digitization of their operations, some are turning to mobile private networks (MPNs), creating both opportunities for CSPs and competition as new technologies help make MPNs easier to deploy.
What role can CSPs play in mobile private networks?
A mix of rising enterprise demand for digitization, increasingly open and manageable technology, recent spectrum allocation and the need for communication service providers (CSPs) to monetize 5G are helping fuel mobile private networks (MPNs), as executives from AWS, Boingo Wireless and Federated Wireless discussed in a recent TM Forum webinar. The Covid-19 pandemic has pushed enterprises to accelerate the automation and digitization of their operations. This raises questions for CSPs, including whether enterprises will turn to MPNs to support digital transformation – and if they do, what the role of CSPs will be. Certainly, new technologies are helping make MPNs easier to deploy. “The technology has advanced to the point where it is far more open and manageable,” said Iyad Tarazi, president & CEO, Federated Wireless.
“We used to talk about making a smaller form of the macro network to deploy inside the building,” he added. “Now we’re talking about edge computing and the DevOps model, distributed software security systems, application integration, data management, distributed computing, cloud computing. There are a completely different set of technologies that are coming into the space. The scale and size and cost opportunity it brings is mind-boggling.” One of the principal advantages of today’s CBRS (Citizens Broadband Radio Service) and 5G technologies is the control they offer over usage, according to Kishore Raja, Vice President, Engineering at Boingo Wireless. A few years ago, “MEC [multi-access edge computing] and network slicing were not standards, so we had to go and use the existing infrastructure, share RAN, share transport and share the core. The reason [MPNs] are growing now is that we have a dedicated network, we are deploying a dedicated RAN, a dedicated core and dedicated transport,” said Raja. “The key advantage is the amount of control (MPNs) give you, especially for an enterprise. None of the technologies, 4G or Wi-Fi, give you the amount of control you have with CBRS in the US or 5G, and that is creating multiple opportunities.” The allocation of spectrum to enterprises and startup service providers, in a handful of countries and notably the US, is also spurring innovation. Tarazi points to a huge infusion of investment in the US, where the government views 5G as a critical infrastructure. “In 2023 more handsets will ship with CBRS in them than all of the handsets on Verizon’s network today,” said Tarazi. “That’s the size of the ecosystem. It is absolutely massive.” Companies across sectors including manufacturing, healthcare, travel, mining, utilities, ports and education are already using MPNs. Applications include video surveillance, closed loop operation of machines, predictive equipment maintenance, smart buildings and touchless travel in zones such as airports.
Not every enterprise will want to lead their own MPN deployment, but that does not mean CSPs can count on playing a primary role. A new TM Forum research report on MPNs gives multiple examples of existing MPN services in which CSPs play a part. However, network equipment providers, hyperscale cloud providers, specialized MPN vendors and systems integrators are all also vying for a share of the MPN market. TM Forum’s report also points to research from Bearingpoint/Beyond and Omdia conducted in 2020, which finds only one in five early enterprise 5G deals is being led by CSPs, while hardware suppliers and systems integrators are leading with 40%. Raja, however, is confident of CSPs’ ability to be successful in providing MPNs. He noted they are helped in part by the move to 5G. “Operators will end up deploying 5G and as part of deployment [they] will enhance the existing core with MEC, network slicing, and ultra-reliable, low latency communications with a flexible network architecture. By virtue of doing this you already have a private network.” It will be important, however, for CSPs to focus on delivering applications that address enterprise customers’ business needs, said Robin Harwani, Head of Global Telecom Industry Solutions & Technology, AWS. AWS partners with operators in seven countries to deploy private networks, according to Harani, including Australia, Germany, Canada, the US and Japan. “The common themes are the applications on top of network that solve the customers’ problem,” said Harwani. He advises, “Don’t just think about the core network or radios, think about the applications…that need to be automated.”
