According to a NTT Data executive, a private 5G network ensures real-time insights into control rooms, enabling Industry 4.0 applications such as machine vision and AGVs
Private 5G is key to enable enterprises across all industries to embrace technologies like Industry 4.0, AI, and IoT to fuel growth and efficiency, said Shahid Ahmed, EVP of New Ventures and Innovation at NTT Data.
“Private 5G is the backbone, allowing for the secure and rapid transfer of large volumes of data, regardless of the environment. What sets private 5G apart is critical use cases that cannot be left to traditional, shared-spectrum technologies such as Wi-Fi. Factories, logistics, and airports are essential examples of networks that must continue running despite disruption,” the executive said.
“Another critical motivation for private 5G deployment includes the growth of machine vision and its reliance on low-latency environments, especially in the manufacturing space, where it’s a key element to an organization’s ROI when deploying private 5G networking. Many organizations run their operations in some of the most remote and challenging terrains, where legacy network infrastructure and connectivity are spotty. A private 5G network ensures real-time insights into control rooms, enabling Industry 4.0 applications such as machine vision and autonomous guided vehicles,” said Ahmed.
When asked about what role that access controls play in securing mission-critical private 5G networks, the NTT Data executive said that access control policies are a critical component of any enterprise security framework, adding that any system deployed into an enterprise network, especially the highly sensitive Operational Technology industrial environments, must have multiple access control layers defined—whether this is controlling who can make changes to which part of the network, or which device can access which part of the network or application suite.
“In terms of implementation, a significant battle is won during the design phase. Careful thought must be given to the access control framework so that changes don’t need to be ‘tagged on’ later. Security, and by definition, access control, should be a ‘by design’ approach and not an ‘add-on’ approach,” Ahmed added.
Ahmed also said that aside from robust access control designs, visibility of the traffic on the private 5G network is possibly the next-most-important tool for network management teams. “Without the ability to see what is happening on the network, teams are mainly blind to troubleshooting and managing the network,” he said. “While this may sound obvious, private 5G networks don’t provide this facility natively because all data is encrypted. Additional systems must be implemented in the security framework to allow this visibility.”
According to the NTT Data executive, although the private 5G market is increasing, the device portfolio is less diverse than that of 4G and Wi-Fi and will need more time to reach maturity. Due to this, it is essential first to identify use cases and then evaluate the entire stack, including devices, the executive added.
He went on to say that it is important to note that private 5G networks complement Wi-Fi. “Wi-Fi effectively does what it was designed to do—providing ubiquitous connectivity to the broadest array of devices possible. While we have been shoehorning Wi-Fi into spaces, it’s probably not best suited; we now have access to private 5G for these more industrial and RF-hostile environments where traditional shared spectrum technologies struggle,” he added.
RCR Wireless News published an editorial report dubbed “Securing the edge- Where 5G meets the enterprise”, in which key industry leaders and analysts explore the critical considerations surrounding the security of 5G private networks deployed at the edge for enterprises. Click here to access the report.
