Category: News

Key highlights:

• The Alliance for private networks and 5G-ACIA sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to drive the adoption of 5G private networks in manufacturing and process industries.
• The MoU establishes a closer channel for exchanging views and joint development of industry white papers, market research efforts, in-person opportunities for ecosystem engagement, and more.

Fremont, CA (USA), Frankfurt/Main (Germany) January 30, 2023 – The Alliance for private networks and 5G-ACIA, the globally leading organization for driving and shaping Industrial 5G, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to advance the adoption of 5G private wireless networks in manufacturing and process industries. The MoU strengthens the cooperative relationship and fosters a closer channel for exchanging views and information through the development of joint industry white papers, market research efforts, collaborative event participation, and in-person opportunities for ecosystem engagement.

The Alliance is championing the global industry adoption of private wireless networks in any available spectrum, providing guidance through Uni5G™ technology blueprints for 5G and our unique global PLMN-ID, made available to enterprises through the Network Identifier Program. Additionally, the Alliance provides resources and tools through various channels for industry verticals to simplify their path to optimized, reliable, and secure private networks in locally licensed, shared, and unlicensed spectrum. Our mission is to guide enterprises to deploy their own private networks in any spectrum, and provide the tools and resources needed to facilitate and achieve their digitalization goals.

The mission of 5G-ACIA is to ensure the best possible applicability of 5G technology and 5G networks for connected industries, in particular the manufacturing and process industries. 5G-ACIA will ensure that the interests and particular aspects of the industrial domain are adequately considered in 5G standardization and regulation. 5G-ACIA will further ensure that the ongoing 5G developments are understood by and transferred to the industrial domain. This includes possible integration concepts and migration paths, together with the evaluation of key technologies emerging from 5G standardization bodies.

Mazen Chmaytelli, President of The Alliance for private networks
“The Alliance welcomes the opportunity to partner with 5G-ACIA to jointly advance the global 5G private network adoption in manufacturing and process industries. With this partnership we can combine resources in targeted efforts to accelerate 5G private network adoption for industrial applications.”

Dr. Andreas Mueller, 5G-ACIA Chair
“Private networks play a crucial role for the adoption of 5G in the industrial domain due to special performance, security and business requirements. Therefore, 5G-ACIA has played a pivotal role in the development of private mobile networks ever since. We are very excited to join forces with the Alliance for private networks in order to lay the foundation for a more widespread adoption of private networks in the manufacturing and process industries in future.”

About The Alliance for private networks:
We are an industry alliance supporting private network adoption. The Alliance provides resources that simplify the path to optimized, reliable and secure private networks in locally licensed, shared, or unlicensed spectrum. The Alliance enables the ecosystem with its Uni5G™ technology blueprints and its unique global PLMN-ID program. Uni5G, based on 3GPP specifications, identifies the key 5G features needed for enterprises to successfully deploy their own private network. The Alliance is a 3GPP Market Representation Partner. Learn more at www.mfa-tech.org.

About 5G-ACIA:
The 5G Alliance for Connected Industries and Automation (5G-ACIA) is the globally leading organization for driving and shaping Industrial 5G. 5G-ACIA members jointly prepare for the disruptive change that 5G will bring, promote a better understanding of industrial needs, and gain insights into a highly attractive emerging market. 5G-ACIA provides a unique platform for OT and ICT companies, academia, and all relevant stakeholders to influence 5G development and deployment, in line with industrial imperatives. The currently more than 90 member organizations make the results of their work directly available to 3GPP, the main standardization body for developing 5G. 5G-ACIA is a market representation partner of 3GPP and has the formal status of a working party of ZVEI e.V. www.5g-acia.org

Key highlights:

• The Alliance for private networks, introduces new industry resources for enterprises to simplify their path to optimized, reliable, and secure private networks in locally licensed, shared and unlicensed spectrum.
• New tools include technology blueprints for 5G private networks, an interactive map of available spectrum options, a private network tracker, and network identifier program.
• The Alliance is launching a new newsletter, “MFA Insights: Private Network Report,” to share updates on the latest private network deployments, spectrum availability, white papers, case studies, and more.
• The Alliance is sponsoring Hannover Messe USA, September 12-17 in Chicago, with featured speaking opportunities in the Solutions Theater and is showcasing technology resources in booth #134661.

September 7, 2022 – FREMONT, CA – The Alliance for private networks, today announced that it is launching a new resource center on its website for enterprises to gain access to tools that will aid their 3GPP-based private network deployments and to highlight private networks globally. Enterprises can access these tools to simplify their own private network deployments and to learn about available spectrum options in their region.

“The connectivity requirements of enterprises are becoming more complex, with thousands of devices on a network conducting business-critical applications,” said Mazen Chmaytelli, president, the Alliance for private networks. “The Alliance is a leading industry resource for enterprises looking to understand the benefits and opportunities of 3GPP-based private networks for their business. Our mission is to make it as easy as possible for enterprises to deploy their own private network in any spectrum, and we are providing the tools and resources to help them facilitate that and achieve their digitalization goals.”

As part of its new private networks resource center, the Alliance is launching a private network tracker in partnership with industry analyst firm, Mobile Experts. The tracker provides insight into the state of private networks across various industry verticals and enterprises as well as regions where private networks are gaining ground.

“As of the end of June 2022, Mobile Experts estimates that more than 2,800 private LTE and 5G networks have been cumulatively deployed,” said Kyung Mun, principal analyst, Mobile Experts. “We also forecast that the private cellular equipment market will grow 12-15% this year to $1.9B and continue to ramp as the industrial device ecosystem scales. We also see that additional regulators are taking their cue from early actions in Germany, Japan, USA and the UK to make available dedicated private 5G spectrum. The Alliance will be providing ongoing updates on private network deployments globally so enterprises can learn about trends and best practices.”

New monthly newsletter
Enterprises are encouraged to subscribe to our new newsletter that will feature a monthly update on private networks deployed globally in a variety of industries, as well as feature new white papers, case studies, and resources. Subscribe at www.mfa-tech.org/newsletter.

Uni5G technology blueprints available for enterprises
The Alliance has also made its Uni5G™ technology blueprints publicly available for any enterprise to download. The blueprints leverage 3GPP 5G standards to define profiling and classification requirements for private networks. Enterprises can use the blueprints as a tool with their vendor of choice to let them know which select features their devices need to implement. The initial set of blueprints is based on 3GPP Release 15, and the next set of blueprints based on Release 16 and beyond are under development.

Meet us at Hannover Messe USA
We will be presenting at Hannover Messe USA in the Solutions Theater located in Building 1, Level 3.

• Monday, Sept. 12, 10:30-11:00AM: Practical Tools to Simplify Your Private Network Deployment by Mazen Chmaytelli, President
• Friday, Sept. 16, 11:15-11:45AM: Deploying a Private 5G Network Doesn’t have to be Rocket Science by Asimakis Kokkos, Technical Specification Group Chair

Our representatives will also showcase technology solutions and resources in Booth #134661. To schedule a meeting with our private network experts, contact press@mfa-tech.org.

Resources:

• Download Uni5G technology blueprints
• White paper:  PLMN-ID – The ideal solution for your private network development
• View the global spectrum map
• Private network deployment tracker
• Subscribe to our newsletter, Insights: Private Networks Report

About the Alliance

We are an industry alliance supporting private network adoption. We provide resources that simplify the path to optimized, reliable and secure private networks in locally licensed, shared, or unlicensed spectrum. The Alliance enables the ecosystem with its free Uni5G™ technology blueprints and its unique global PLMN-ID program. Uni5G, based on 3GPP specifications, identifies the key 5G features needed for enterprises to successfully deploy their own private network. The Alliance is a 3GPP Market Representation Partner. Learn more at www.mfa-tech.org.

Locally-licensed, licensed, unlicensed – how to have it all, and have it all with cellular

News Highlights:

• Uni5G™ technology blueprints based on 3GPP standards will help enterprises select and implement key features that are relevant to their specific 5G private network deployment.
• The initial set of Uni5G technology blueprints identified three blueprint families focusing on coverage, reliability, connection density, and latency.
• The Alliance is enabling 5G private networks in unlicensed, shared and locally licensed spectrum by providing guidance to enterprises seeking to deploy their own networks. Its board members include Ericsson, Huawei, Intel, Nokia, and Qualcomm.

FREMONT, CA – February 23, 2022 – The Alliance, an international organization dedicated to enabling industry verticals to deploy private cellular networks globally, today announced the completion of the Uni5G technology blueprints. This initial set of three blueprint families provides guidance to industry verticals and enterprises on the key functionalities to implement from 3GPP Release 15 to meet their specific requirements for coverage, reliability, connection density, and latency for their deployment. By focusing and implementing selected features from the Uni5G blueprint families, industry verticals can simplify their path to 5G private networks.

“Globally, there is a growing trend for industry verticals such as manufacturing, warehouses and logistics, ports, and more to deploy 4G and 5G private networks to gain the benefits of increased automation and digitalization,” said Mazen Chmaytelli, president, the Alliance for private networks. “However, these industry verticals are not telecom experts and may not know where to start. By creating the Uni5G technology blueprints that map the 3GPP features they need for the functionality they want, the Alliance is providing a valuable tool for these industry verticals to share with device and equipment manufacturers to obtain the features that are required fulfill their objectives.”

The first Uni5G technology blueprints release includes three blueprint families that map 3GPP features to requirements for coverage, reliability, connection density, and latency. For example, if a shipping port requires reliability and coverage, it can leverage the Uni5G blueprint to understand which features from Release 15 that it needs to implement for either a basic device or an advanced device. The Alliance will continue to evolve the Uni5G technology blueprints to stay in step with 3GPP releases.

The Uni5G technology blueprints are available now to our members. To be notified when the blueprints become available publicly, sign up here.

Caroline Chan, VP Network and Edge Group, GM Network Business Incubation Division of Intel Corporation, said: “This is an important and timely contribution to the global scaling of private network solutions across a range of sectors. These blueprints, when implemented on Intel’s proven FlexRAN reference architecture and Intel Xeon processors, can help enterprises simplify the path to deploy key features for their 5G private networks.”

Stephan Litjens, Vice President, Enterprise Solutions, Nokia Cloud and Networking Services, said: “Successful adoption and use of private wireless 5G by industry is largely dependent on the healthy growth of the 5G device ecosystem and automation enablers. Through its pioneering work on Uni5G blueprints, the Alliance is providing industry with clear guidance on how to achieve this. Uni5G blueprints will be an invaluable tool for verticals and industry players to identify what key features are necessary to optimize and enhance industrial applications that facilitate automation goals.”

Dr. Edward Tiedemann, Senior Vice-President, Engineering, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., said: “The emergence of 5G private networks is opening up exciting new opportunities for verticals to connect various equipment. It is great to see the Alliance putting in place critical support to demystify the process of deploying 5G private networks—first with the network identifier program and now with blueprints that will help the ecosystem align on requirements for different 5G private network use cases.”

Visit the Alliance at #MWC22
The Alliance for private networks will be showcasing technology solutions in Booth 7B12. To schedule a meeting with our private network experts, contact mfa@nereus-worldwide.com.

Resources:

• Blog: Uni5G technology blueprints – Mapping to 3GPP Release 15
• Website: Uni5G technology blueprints
• Video: Uni5G and MulteFire for Manufacturing Use Case
• Video: Uni5G and MulteFire for Ports Use Case

About the Alliance for private networks 

The Alliance is an international organization that is championing the global industry adoption of private networks using  MulteFire® specifications for LTE and Uni5G technology blueprints for 5G. With Uni5G or MulteFire, enterprises can efficiently deploy their own optimized, reliable and secure private network in unlicensed, shared or locally licensed spectrum. For more information, visit www.mfa-tech.org.

News Highlights:

• The Alliance makes its unique global PLMN ID available to enterprises for their own 5G private network
• The Alliance announces new Private Network Subscriber category for enterprises to jumpstart deployment

FREMONT, CA – November 16, 2021 – The Alliance for Private Networks, an international organization championing the global industry adoption of private networks based upon 3GPP technologies, today announced its Network Identifier Program for enterprises. Enterprises now have access to the our unique global PLMN ID that they can use when deploying their own private network to ensure that only authorized devices connect to their network. The program reduces complexity and streamlines the network development process for enterprises by eliminating the need for them to separately apply for their own PLMN ID.

“Our mission is to make it as easy as possible for enterprises to quickly deploy their own private network and realize the benefits of greater control over their network, enhanced on-premise data security, and predictable performance,” said Mazen Chmaytelli, president, The Alliance for Private Networks. “The Alliance was awarded a unique global PLMN ID by the ITU, and we are creating this new program to ensure all industry verticals have ready access to a PLMN ID that will support their digitalization journey.”

Enterprises and industry verticals including maritime, manufacturing, warehouses, utilities, and venues can select a Private Network ID package or a Neutral Host Network (NHN) ID package that will provide them with all the items they need to deploy a neutral host or private network. For large deployments, enterprises will be able to add-on IDs to meet their requirements for coverage and capacity.

“With access to the global PLMN ID from the Alliance, network suppliers or operators will have the necessary identifiers to create unique and distinguishable private networks, streamlining the deployment process for their enterprise customers – anywhere in the world they are located,” said Asimakis Kokkos, Technical Specification Group Chair and Head of Technology Ecosystems, Nokia Enterprise Solutions.

New Private Network Subscriber category created to jumpstart deployment

The Alliance has also created a new Private Network Subscriber category that will grant enterprises one complimentary Private Network ID package that they can use immediately to deploy their own 5G private network in locally licensed spectrum or MulteFire®/4G private network in unlicensed spectrum today.

“For a one-time fee, Private Network Subscribers gain access to a Private Network ID package that is evergreen and does not need to be renewed,” added Chmaytelli. “Our members also will receive complimentary packages that will meet their deployment requirements. The Alliance wants to help seed as many private networks as possible, and we’re excited to bring this important program to the entire industry.”

To further enable private network deployments, the Alliance, a 3GPP Market Representation Partner (MRP), previously announced that it is also developing Uni5G™ technology blueprints. These blueprints will provide enterprises with practical guidance on implementing the key features from the 3GPP 5G standards that are relevant to their specific deployment. The first blueprints will be finalized in December 2021.

The Network Identifier program is administered by the Certificate Authority and is available today to the Alliance members and non-members. For companies interested in joining the program, visit www.mfa-tech.org.

Resources:

• White Paper: “5G Private Networks for Maritime Use Opportunities for Digital Port Automation,” Beecham Research
• White Paper: “The Importance of Spectrum Liberalization for Private 5G Networks,” ABI Research
• Video: Uni5G and MulteFire Private Networks for Manufacturing

About The Alliance for Private Networks

The Alliance for Private Networks is an international organization that is championing the global industry adoption of private networks using  MulteFire specifications for LTE and Uni5G technology blueprints for 5G. With Uni5G or MulteFire, enterprises can efficiently deploy their own optimized, reliable and secure private network in unlicensed, shared or locally licensed spectrum. For more information, visit www.mfa-tech.org.