Blueprints to Promote Scalable Private Networks for Vertical Markets

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Small Cell Forum (SCF) has launched a program focused on developing blueprints for enterprise and industry, which would create scalable and sustainable multi-technology private cellular networks.

“The blueprints will provide common reference designs and deployment processes that reduce the time, cost and risk of developing a small cell network,” the organization said on its website. While based on standard specifications, the blueprints will be specific to certain roll-out scenarios that are not currently addressed by the frameworks of other organizations.”

The blueprints address two use cases – private small cell networks for enterprise connectivity and services and cellular vehicle-to-everything (CV2X) for Automotive industry integrated with smart city services.

Those use cases represent “significant areas of near-term growth potential” for small cells, but rollouts may be “delayed or diminished” without blueprints to drive scale and confidence, according to the Forum.

“The Small Cell Forum aims to bridge the gap between the capabilities of emerging technologies, such as WiFi 6, Edge Computing and the Cloud, and the availability of a range of services that meet business requirements.” the Forum said.

Recognizing this trend and the market need, SCF is launching a blueprints initiative within its newly formed Emerging Technology Group. The program will develop a suite of blueprints for specific use cases, deployment scenarios and service offerings with a range of cost and performance options that can be used by both vendors and deployers.

“Providers of components, modules, software and cloud native platforms can design to these specs and be certified as compliant and interoperable,” the Forum said. “Because they are use case-specific, blueprints enable deployers to be confident that compliant solutions will be interoperable and deployable for their own business.”

Bob Slorach, CTO at Wireless Infrastructure Group, said the SCF blueprints are a sign that mobile infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) has come of age. For private cellular to scale, he said. it needs to be “more modular and less proprietary,” which will help to gain the confidence of businesses, on his company’s website.

“Significantly, SCF highlights the growing opportunity for alternative service models, including mobile IaaS, that can deliver connectivity solutions which are precisely tailored to the requirements of the consumer,” Slorach said. “Along with the opportunities associated with private cellular networks, the important message for enterprise is that enabling effective cellular coverage and capacity and managing multiple MNO relationships are not problems they need to handle. These are our areas of expertise.”

SCF is launching a blueprints initiative within its newly formed Emerging Technology Group, which is led by representatives of Reliance Jio and Lockheed Martin. The first phase will focus on enterprise 5G private networks that are deployed in isolation from the public network, with a delivery target of the first half of 2022, according to the Forum. The second phase will be a blueprint for private networks that are mobile network operator-supported, with a deadline of Q1 2023. Next will come the development of blueprints for CV2X and, then, for Industry 4.0 use cases.

By J. Sharpe Smith Inside Towers Technology Editor

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