The lines are blurring between commercial LTE networks operated by mobile carriers, and the network options available to private enterprises.
Until recently, enterprises were unable to use LTE for their private wireless networks because LTE requires licensed spectrum. Today, however, new spectrum sharing technologies and policy modifications are ushering in a new era of Private LTE Services, which are next gen LTE networks that enable industries and enterprises to own and manage their own LTE network without requiring licensed spectrum.
To understand the technologies that form the foundation of a new era in private LTE network and Industrial IoT applications requires a comprehensive understanding of the 3.5Ghz CBRS spectrum band plan.
Two leading organizations, the Wireless Innovation Forum and the CBRS Alliance, collaborate to lead the business, policy and technology standards required to usher in the new era in private LTE. The two organizations have planned to host a comprehensive workshop on the 3.5Ghz CBRS spectrum opportunity, May 21 in Charlotte, North Carolina at the Connectivity Expo.
Huge potential
The potential market is enormous: In October 2017 Qualcomm estimated that the total worldwide economic impact of the spread of private LTE networks would grow from $6 trillion in 2025 to $8 trillion by 2030.
Use cases tend to be in vertical markets, driven by the technology’s ability to support large numbers of wide bandwidth devices without latency problems: “We’re seeing things like sensors and controls and surveillance infrastructure inside, like oil refineries,” says Art King, Director of Enterprise Services & Technologies, SpiderCloud Wireless. “We’re seeing extremely high-performance downloads being demanded at airports, because they’re trying to wirelessly upload engine data and other data out of aircraft at a speed so they don’t have to pull a fiber optic cable to the airplane whenever they turn it around at the gate.” Other expected verticals include healthcare, manufacturing, and surveillance in transportation hubs.
Private LTE networks will also drive innovation in IoT applications, King adds, if for no other reason than cost: “The IoT vendors can put a radio into their device a lot faster than Samsung or Apple can add the radio to their mobile.”
Costs should also decrease rapidly, he continues, because the expected proliferation of suppliers. Competition among Internet domain registrars has driven down the cost for registration of names, and he expects something similar with SAS (spectrum allocation server) registrars. Competition will cause these suppliers to add services and minimize prices, all of which will help the market to grow.
So where is Private LTE?
Industry insiders believe it could be ready by 3rd quarter this year. “Private LTE is not yet commercially available in the U.S.,” King explains. There has been some work in military facilities, but so far nothing outside of that. Of the two types of CBRS networks, GAA and PAL, GAA is closest to reality, and King expects GAA networks to become available in the third or fourth quarter of this year, if the FCC finishes its work, and final the Department of Defense approves the spectrum allocation system (SAS).
What about security?
Security should not be a problem, because private LTE networks are closed environments. Yet as more and more IoT devices are used in these networks it will be necessary to make sure that they adhere to the proper standards. Badly-designed consumer IoT devices like refrigerators, thermostats, home security cameras and the like have shown the need to avoid cheap products that are rushed to market without proper attention to this vital area. A distributed denial of service attack on a company like Amazon is a bad thing; an intrusion into the control system for the electric grid, a major pipeline system or an oil refinery can be orders of magnitude worse. And just as with the initial large-scale distribution of a new pharmaceutical, there will be unanticipated problems. Let’s hope everyone is prepared to respond quickly.
Despite the uncertainty in policy circles, it is clear that a new generation of wireless communications developed for challenging environments has emerged. Private LTE networking technology—LTE-based wireless technology for local and independent networks— enables users and customers to integrate diverse sensors, machines, people, vehicles and more across a wide range of applications and usage scenarios.
It treats user concerns—from reliability and service quality, to security and compliance—as challenges that can be addressed by a single, scalable wireless networking solution that leverages LTE’s technology and ecosystem benefits. In taking this perspective, private LTE networks are jumping ahead of the current market confusion about wireless connectivity and is re-defining how value is created from devices and data.
