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New Levels Of Enterprise Control With 5G Private Mobile Networks

Caroline_Chan
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When I speak with chief information officers about the private mobile network option, they ask how dedicated connectivity can help them drive business results. The American Dream complex in New Jersey is a great example.

Beyond being one of the nation’s first deployments running on the newly available Citizen Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) 3.5 Ghz (3550 MHz to 3700 MHz) spectrum band, the American Dream is revolutionizing retail and entertainment. The complex introduced a private LTE network for behind the scenes operations enabled by JMA Wireless XRAN and a 100% virtualized, software baseband running on standard Intel® Xeon® processor-based servers. With dedicated connectivity, the complex’s tenants (retail shops) can gather data and intelligence to run more efficient operations and increase sales.

4G LTE private networks—like the one that American Dream uses—can give enterprise businesses connectivity that meets their specific needs to deliver on applications and services. As 5G gets deployed, I’m truly excited about how private mobile networks can utilize that technology along with edge computing to deliver even more value to businesses.

Amplifying Capabilities with 5G

First, let’s look at what a private mobile network is. Private mobile networks use dedicated radio equipment to deliver service to a limited area for a specific use case like smart stadium operations or a connected factory. They give enterprises the opportunity to own a mobile network and gain more control over networking and connectivity while also benefiting from flexibility, data sovereignty, and ease of scale. These enterprise-owned networks can be managed internally or by a third-party or communication service provider. And while spectrum has been a barrier for businesses in the past, new options like CBRS are emerging that provide availability and cost efficiencies.

With the emergence of 5G, the private mobile network option can deliver even greater capacity, reliability, and ultra-low latency. Just think about new technologies like artificial intelligence and machine learning, AR/VR, advanced robotics, and the sheer amount of data being created that businesses could leverage with dedicated 5G connectivity. The 5G private mobile network and edge computing can help enterprises derive insights from massive amounts of data, go-to-market faster with new applications, deliver more real-time customized services, and enhance customer experiences with increased network performance.

Moving Industries Into the Future

There are three verticals in particular that I believe could benefit from the 5G private mobile network option and edge computing: manufacturing, entertainment, and retail.

In manufacturing, productivity is crucial for increasing margins. The dedicated high bandwidth and ultra-low latency of 5G private mobile networks can help support factory automation. Because enterprises control the network, this enables reliable, flexible, reconfigurable factories that can respond dynamically to shifting priorities. Furthermore, these factories can leverage high-bandwidth applications such as video analytics to catch and correct defects and enhance quality assurance.

The benefits for the entertainment industry are particularly compelling when you consider smart venues. Reliable and secure 5G private mobile networks with dedicated high-capacity connectivity can improve operations and athletic experiences for teams, broadcasters, owners, and retailers. For example, coaches can use AI-powered instant replays processed at the edge to make critical game decisions or broadcasters can gain efficiencies for distributing ultra-high-definition 4K video over jumbotrons in the stadium.

In retail locations, 5G private mobile networks can deliver targeted, customized experiences to help merchants exceed in-store customer expectations. For example, retailers can use data and AI to create custom, real-time special offers and digital display advertisements based on customer demographics. Or they can unleash analytics and augmented reality to deliver impactful new ways to shop that accelerate the sale. Beyond introducing an online-style experience in-store, 5G private mobile networks can optimize retail operations by using smart shelves and inventory management systems to match available products with real-time demand.

Enabling A Fully Connected World

With this exciting future on the horizon, we’re working with our partners to lay the technology foundation for 5G private mobile networks. We’re engaging a broad community, including enterprise software developers, to enhance automation, security, and bring innovative services to the table that help enterprise businesses realize the results they’re after.

It’s also important to note that 5G private mobile networks can work well alongside 5G public networks too. Consider the smart stadium use case. While private networks deliver connectivity for behind the scenes operations, public networks connect the fans inside the stadium. 5G private mobile and public networks can be quite complementary to deliver a great connectivity experience. They both contribute to the ultimate 5G vision to create a world where compute and data are fluid, intelligent, and pervasive.

If you’d like to learn more about the potential of 5G private mobile networks, check out our 5G Private Networks infographic .
About the Author
Caroline Chan is General Manager of 5G Infrastructure Division within Intel's Network Platform Group. Caroline has overall responsibility for Intel's global network infrastructure strategy and solution development related to 5th-generation wireless technology. Chan and her team identify and develop use cases that incorporate the Internet of Things, innovation in wireless technologies and deployment models.