• • • SMART BUILDINGS & I0T • • •
Goodbye, Wi-Fi: Why 5G-enabled private networks are the key to connecting
large scale environments While Wi-Fi was once hailed as the holy grail of connectivity, its days in large- scale environments are numbered, says Marc Overton, senior vice president EMEA/chief solutions officer at Sierra Wireless
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s a technology, Wi-Fi’s range is simply too small to compete with cellular networks. Despite a continued effort to improve its security, I expect that Wi-Fi’s poor resilience will see it resigned to use in small networking scenarios with short range requirements only, like small businesses, classrooms and homes, in as little as three to four years.
Large scale, industrial environments require reliable, scalable connectivity, and private networks can deliver just that.
Until recently, if an organisation wanted to deploy a private wireless network within a large-scale environment, such as a factory, transport hub or office building, or across a utility service or another geographic area, its options were limited. Legacy private networks like LoRa and Sigfox were an adequate option for low bandwidth basic connectivity requirements and Wi-Fi for connecting laptops and other IIoT equipment to the internet, however the network coverage and security capability were limited. The majority of legacy private networks were not compatible with public cellular networks, and were costly to manage.
Enter a new type of private network, powered by 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) and 5G technologies. These networks are powered by cellular technology, and are therefore compatible with public cellular networks, meaning they can offer organisations many of the coverage, resilience and security capabilities that they need for more advanced IIoT applications. LTE and 5G networks are more secure than Wi-Fi because they encrypt data.
LTE VERSUS 5G
So, what are the differences between private LTE and 5G networks? LTE is a 4G cellular networking technology that offers secure, reliable and fast connectivity. It is the same technology used by consumers every day when using their smartphone, whether that’s calling friends and family, playing games or checking your email.
5G, on the other hand, is a new cellular network technology that offers many performance advantages over LTE, including faster data transmission, lower
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latency and the ability to connect to more edge devices.
PUBLIC VERSUS PRIVATE NETWORKS
The difference between public and private LTE and 5G networks resides in who has a license or priority access to the wireless spectrum, and who owns and operates the network’s base stations and infrastructure. With private LTE and 5G networks, private organisations own, operate, or have some level of priority access to the network’s infrastructure or spectrum.
With fully private LTE and 5G networks, the organisation owns the wireless spectrum that it uses for the network, as well as the network base stations and other infrastructure. This provides the organisation with full control over the network and allows it to completely isolate its users from other MNO public networks.
PRIVATE NETWORKS IN PRACTICE
Demand for private networks in the real world comes from the higher bandwidth and low latency that 5G provides. Private 4G networks paved the way, but 5G has uncorked the bottle on what is possible for
industrial sites.
Almost any organisation can set up and operate their own private LTE or 5G network if they wish to, just as anyone can set up and operate their own Wi-Fi network.
The organisation just needs spectrum, network infrastructure equipment, and edge devices that can connect to this equipment.
This is already possible in select countries, with spectrum connectivity available in the UK, Germany, France and the US, with many more countries in the EU imminently preparing to open up spectrum for private use. For a private cellular network to not just exist, but thrive, however, organisations must deploy the correct gateways and modules. Fully private LTE and 5G networks require a higher initial capital investment than Wi-Fi and other networks. This is why organisations that are deploying or are considering deploying private LTE or 5G networks are typically those that need to provide connectivity to a large number of users and devices, or need to cover a large geographic area for IIoT applications.
Practically any type of organisation – whether it’s a manufacturing company, mining company, university, transportation hub or utilities provider – can install and operate a private LTE or 5G network to provide connectivity to their factory, mine, campus, airport, or utility service area.
ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING • SEPTEMBER 2021 11
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