Private 5G Networks: What They Are And Why You Should Care

By John Oncea, Editor

5G’s rollout is following a typical progression, but one surprise is the push for private networks to smooth out the bumps in the road.

5G’s highly anticipated rollout began a few years ago and, on the plus side, it is providing faster service times than 4G. However, according to Ookla, upload and download times have decreased globally when compared to 5G service times a year ago. “Even the most robust 5G networks are currently barely cracking 1 gigabit per second, well short of the International Telecommunication Union’s stated ideal download speed of 20 Gbps,” writes IEEE.

This doesn’t come as a surprise considering the history of the rollout of this technology. These “growing pains” are to be expected as more 5G-capable phones and devices are put into use. “You look to 4G, and we had the same,” says Mark Giles, an industry analyst at Ookla. “So, with initial deployments of 4G, there was a lot of capacity to soak up those early users. And then as more and more users come on that capacity gets used up, and you need to look at densification.”

In addition to this, most 5G networks were built on top of existing 4G core infrastructure, a cheaper and easier option than building 5G infrastructure from scratch. This decision also was driven by regulatory and permitting problems, particularly in dense urban areas where the biggest challenge is finding a spot to put a new cell site in the first place.

Unique challenges are emerging in non-urban areas, as well. One of the major benefits of 5G technology is the ability to access new spectrums, specifically, the millimeter wave band (24 GHz to 40 GHz) which enables faster data rates and lower latencies. However, the drawback of these higher frequencies is that they have a limited range, making them more suitable for cities than for suburban or rural areas. As the number of 5G users grows across various locations, it's expected that network performance will decrease due to this limitation.

For some, the solution is 5G Advanced (also known as 5.5G), the next iteration of 5G which is expected to be rolled out by around 2025. Still, others are looking at building private 5G networks which Cisco defines as, “Nonpublic mobile networks that can use licensed, unlicensed, or shared spectrum” and are “meant to augment existing capabilities and introduce new possibilities that other systems are not able to support.”

What Exactly Is A Private 5G Network?

Cisco writes that private 5G networks are an alternative to buying, building, and managing a private mobile network. “It can lower the barrier of entry for enterprises and industries by reducing initial costs and offloading construction and daily management, so organizations can focus on core business initiatives.” They are, according to Cisco, multiple models for how a private 5G network can be architected, deployed, and operated. These include:

• Wholly owned and operated private 5G networks, where an organization owns all the equipment, private clouds, and spectrum, and manages the network in-house
• Hybrid private-public cloud 5G networks, where a business may own or lease on-premises equipment and use a public or private cloud service to host parts of the network
• Private 5G delivered via network slicing, which may include an on-site Radio Access Network (RAN) and other equipment, depending on application needs
• Neutral host networks with a RAN and signal sharing

Depending on the power of the radio transmitter, the band being used, and the needs of the user, private 5G networks can cover anywhere from a few thousand square feet to dozens of miles. A typical 5G radio operating on low, mid, and high bands offers the following ranges:

• Low-band: less than 1 GHz, hundreds of square miles, speeds of less than 300 Mbps
• Mid-band: sub-6 GHz, several-mile radius, can reach low Multigigabit speeds
• High-band or mmWave: less than a 1-mile radius today, mid to high Multigigabit speeds

Private 5G In Action: Healthcare, Education, And The Military

Wireless communication firms are looking for markets in which to set up private 5G networks and, according to Managed Healthcare Executive, may have found a willing participant in hospitals such as the Cleveland Clinic. “Last month, Verizon announced a deal with the Cleveland Clinic to deploy a private 5G network at a new Cleveland Clinic hospital in Mentor, OH. While the foundation of the deal is the 5G network, the companies said they also will use the opportunity to explore potential digital solutions, including patient check-in kiosks, in-room infotainment, and augmented- or virtual-reality tools for a variety of training and imaging functions.

“Matthew Kull, MBA, Cleveland Clinic’s chief information officer, said the partnership is part of the health system’s ‘long-term vision for a fully digital hospital infrastructure. If we can provide 5G high bandwidth to our facilities, we can become more efficient, ensure better continuity of care as patients transition home, and enhance the overall experience for our caregivers and patients.’”

Verizon, notes Managed Healthcare Executive, is not alone in this effort. Boingo Wireless Chief Commercial Office Michael Zeto says the modern healthcare system is built around internet-connected devices and software, including patient portals and remote monitoring devices. “Add to this cutting-edge lab equipment, robotics, and asset-tracking tools and you have a clear need for secure wireless networks that can connect complex digital environments.”

Education is another market on which private 5G is making its mark, specifically at the Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule (RWTH) Aachen in Germany. It’s here that NTT Ltd. moved from the pilot phase to live deployment with a private 5G mobile network.

“RWTH Aachen University needed stronger on-campus connectivity, particularly in areas with teams of scientists and students focusing on research,” writes NTT. “But they also needed complete visibility and control over network functionality.”

The solution implemented by RWTH was, of course, a private 5G network because it works on a completely isolated frequency range, offering the visibility and the control the university needed. “In addition, the mobile private 5G network has created the perfect conditions for the university’s important research projects due to the high bandwidth, real-time data transmission, and low latency. The team of scientists in each of the nine facilities on campus now benefit from optimal connectivity and interference-free digital applications for their work.”

Finally, the Department of Defense is choosing private 5G as well, according to Network World. The DoD “awarded an $18 million contract to Hughes Network Systems, DISH Networks, and other vendors to build a private 5G network at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island in Washington state. Hughes is serving as the prime contractor for the deployment and will rely on spectrum from DISH Wireless, which provides a combination of low-, mid-, and high-band (mmWave) spectrum.”

This deployment is part of an ongoing 5G experiment the DoD is conducting to “increase aircraft readiness by processing massive amounts of data at high speeds. 5G will improve real-time communication coordination across the flight line, which will reduce maintenance time and decrease the preparation time needed between missions. The 5G network also will support operations and flight-traffic management.”