Vodafone has launched an all-edge private 5G service offering in the UK for enterprise-geared on-premise cellular connectivity. The package, branded simply as Vodafone MPN (for mobile private network), offers standalone and non-standalone 5G (SA and NSA) radio (RAN) and core networks, plus system management, cyber security, and 24/7 support. Vodafone is also offering enterprises access to its public UK network and multi-access edge compute (MEC) infrastructure, as required by their use cases, and support to build IoT and cloud services on top.
It said it is the first telecoms operator in the UK to “standardise” a commercial private 5G SA service in the UK, including its “approach to deliver across the lifecycle of the solution”. There is no word on partners for the core and RAN components, but these will likely come to light with some digging over the next few weeks. On partners, Vodafone said it has “curated several partner ecosystems”, from “software developers and industry specialists”, to help enterprises to develop Industry 4.0 services and applications.
The full service offers indoor and outdoor 5G SA and 5G NSA (and presumably LTE) connectivity to suit enterprises’ use cases, alongside appropriate core network and compute functions along the edge continuum, whether on-premise or within Vodafone’s edge-cloud (MEC) or central-cloud. A management system provides a view of the network, plus connected devices and applications; it allows enterprises to optimise and reconfigure network operations, provision new services, and automate functions and applications.
Vodafone said private 5G sites will be managed by the same security team that manages its pubic network. Its managed service offer includes a “24/7 helpdesk, data insight and analysis, real-time monitoring, and early warning intelligence, as well upgrades and maintenance advice and support”. Vodafone is targeting enterprises in the manufacturing, transport and logistics, energy, and healthcare sectors. It said the service offers “ultra-low latency and [ultra-]high availability”; the all-edge version is a “much more customisable and private connectivity solution”.
Nick Gliddon, business director at Vodafone UK, said: “Private networks are an opportunity for business customers to accelerate innovation at an unprecedented scale. By installing a private and customisable network, Vodafone can support innovation by cultivating new use cases in an environment which brings the best opportunity. That could be delivering on low-latency requirements, enhanced security or enabling massive IoT models. Whatever the use case, Vodafone can deliver a tailored experience to act as a catalyst for innovation.”
Vodafone listed a number of existing private cellular deployments in the UK. These include private 5G networks for automotive engineering consultancy Horiba Mira in Warwickshire, Ford’s E:PRIME factory in Essex, two Scotland 5G Centres in East Ayrshire, the Smart Sound Connect marine testbed in Devon, and Centrica’s natural gas plant in Yorkshire (actually 4G).
