The TIP 5G Private Networks solution group, chaired by Telefonica, says that many private 5G network installations today are custom projects that are expensive to implement and maintain.
The group recently completed a trial to produce a blueprint for more cost-effective and scalable private 5G set-ups.
The trial involved a number of TIP member companies including Rakuten Symphony, Tech Mahindra, NTT Data, Spirent and Nokia.
The solution adopts a cloud-native platform that supports virtualized and containerized network functions and extends across the customer premises at the edge and the cloud, creating a hybrid cloud.
For this, Rakuten Symphony provided its Symworld Orchestrator and Symworld Cloud Native Platform (CNP) components for the deployment of multiple clusters in the cloud and at the edge.
Tech Mahindra provided its open-source automation tool chain for the installation, configuration, testing and operation of software components and infrastructure.
NTT Data integrated an open source, disaggregated 5G non-standalone core from the Open Networking Foundation. The core supports separation of control plane and user plane functions across cloud and edge. This required the creation of a comprehensive mobile core test plan adapted to 5G private networks, with contributions from Spirent.
Nokia provided the 4G/5G RAN components.
Although the initial trial focused on a computer-vision application use case, the architecture and components of the trial have been encapsulated in a blueprint that is suitable for replication in other scenarios.
According to TIP, one of the most important elements of the blueprint is that it provides automated software management, which is usually one of the most significant sources of expenditures for dedicated private networks.
“The cost-effective deployment of private 5G networks at scale requires a comprehensive, automated approach to lifecycle management,” said Vivek Tiwary, head of global delivery, network services at Tech Mahindra, in a statement. “Our expertise at network automation and toolchain integration helped bring the solution to life.”