UK telecoms integrator Colt Technology Services is leading a private 5G consortium including Accedian, ADVA, Airspan, and Athonet to test end-to-end private cellular in a real estate environment in France. The setup uses a disaggregated architecture, and has a bearing on related verticals, notably construction, retail, and healthcare. Tibco Telecoms, the telecoms division of US-based data integration and analytics firm TIBCO Software is also involved.
The consortium will provide private 5G networks to the iconic PB5 La Défense building in Paris, managed by Imagin’Office, a subsidiary of multinational real estate investment trust Icade. The new installations will be used to test a number of smart building and co-working use cases. “This field lab ecosystem will test 5G use cases, including creating immersive experiences for the future workplace for a variety of industries,” they said in a statement. .
US radio access network (RAN) provider Airspan is providing open RAN radio units (RUs), 5G modems, and software; Italy-based Athonet is providing the standalone 5G mobile core network; German network vendor ADVA is providing underlying infrastructure components, including hosting of virtual functions; US performance analytics firm Accedian is providing network monitoring.
Tibco Telecoms is handling the installation, maintenance, and operation of the new 5G network. The group called the project “one of the first to test end-to-end private 5G in real estate using disaggregated architecture”. They added: “To deliver the performance 5G promises requires synchronicity and cooperation across the end-to-end service, which all the members take seriously.”
The new 5G setup at the PB5 La Défense building will offer: simplified deployment; high-density connectivity; reliable performance; higher CRE asset value; and an immersive experience for work spaces.
Jaya Deshmukh, executive vice president of strategy at Colt, said: “Investigating the value 5G technology can bring to enterprises, this pilot will also pave the way for new innovations in Colt’s on-demand connectivity services, network edge and business vertical propositions such as smart office and smart manufacturing. It’s through driving projects such as this that we can enable enterprises to transform and thrive in tomorrow’s connected society digitally.”
Richard Piasentin, chief strategy officer at Accedian, said: “5G-enabled services require deterministic performance, and to assure the high-speed performance and low latency of these applications, every layer, from Layer 2 all the way to Layer 7, needs to be accurately measured. Managing a complex distributed 5G network isn’t difficult when you have complete and detailed visibility across the physical, virtual, and cloud infrastructures.
“We’re excited to be part of this innovative pilot and showcase the many benefits of 5G with an end-to-end performance monitoring solution. Skylight Sensors collect real-time performance data across the private 5G networks and combine them into a single pane of glass in Skylight Performance Analytics to give the detailed visibility needed to meet customers’ expectations and strict SLAs. You need to measure network and application performance in microseconds levels in order to give millisecond performance analytics.”
