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Private 5G: The Future of Industrial Wireless

Adnan Aijaz

arXiv:2006.01820v2cs.NI

TL;DR

Industrial digital transformation requires wireless connectivity that can meet diverse and stringent control requirements, motivating private 5G deployments. This article provides a technical overview of private 5G architecture, benefits, use-cases, spectrum, design challenges, and ecosystem development, concluding that private networks can provide dependable industrial communication while highlighting unresolved slicing, TSN, and ecosystem challenges.

  • Problem

    Industry 4.0 introduces diverse real-time industrial applications, while existing wireless technologies often fall short of the determinism, availability, reliability, and latency required for control.

  • Method

    The article technically surveys private 5G concepts, architecture, benefits, use-cases, spectrum opportunities, design aspects, challenges, standardization, and open innovation.

  • Results

    Private 5G offers dependable industrial wireless communication and supports applications including industrial automation, warehouse operations, and hazardous-site remote operation.

  • Takeaways & Limitations

    Private 5G can empower industrial players and non-MNOs to deploy dedicated local networks for a wide range of industrial use-cases.

Abstract

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High-performance wireless communication is crucial in digital transformation of industrial systems which is driven by Industry 4.0 and the Industrial Internet initiatives. Among the candidate industrial wireless technologies, 5G (cellular/mobile) holds significant potential. Operation of private (non-public) 5G networks in industrial environments is promising to fully unleash this potential. This article provides a technical overview of private 5G networks. It introduces the concept and functional architecture of private 5G while highlighting the key benefits and industrial use-cases. It explores spectrum opportunities for private 5G networks. It also discusses design aspects of private 5G along with the key challenges. Finally, it explores the emerging standardization and open innovation ecosystem for private 5G.

I. INTRODUCTION

Industry 4.0 creates diverse real-time industrial connectivity requirements, while existing wireless technologies remain insufficient for stringent control applications. The paper motivates private 5G as a way to address these needs through dedicated, controllable industrial networks.

  • I. INTRODUCTION: Industrial networks support control and monitoring, with control traffic requiring deterministic real-time communication.Industry 4.0 connects people, objects, processes, and systems in real time while introducing diverse application requirements.
  • I. INTRODUCTION: Wireless technologies improve flexibility, mobility, installation costs, maintenance costs, and personnel safety in industrial communication.
  • I. INTRODUCTION: Existing wireless technologies mainly support monitoring and often fail to provide the determinism, availability, reliability, and latency required for industrial control.Consequently, control applications are still commonly implemented using wired fieldbus systems.
  • I. INTRODUCTION: 5G is promising because its service-oriented design targets demanding industrial control applications and supports use-cases across vertical industries.Its unified approach contrasts with the dedicated solutions and limited interoperability characteristic of earlier industrial networking generations.
  • I. INTRODUCTION: Private 5G provides dedicated coverage, exclusive resources, customized services, and complete control over network operation for industrial use-cases.
  • I. INTRODUCTION: The article surveys private 5G concepts, architecture, benefits, use-cases, spectrum, design aspects, challenges, standardization, and open innovation.

II. WHY 5G FOR INDUSTRIAL COMMUNICATION?

5G is attractive for industrial communication because it combines support for diverse service requirements with QoS, mobility, security, positioning, and scalability features. The paper contrasts these capabilities with Wi-Fi 6 and summarizes industrial connectivity requirements.

  • II. WHY 5G FOR INDUSTRIAL COMMUNICATION?: Industrial applications impose diverse connectivity requirements that reflect the differing demands of control, monitoring, and emerging Industry 4.0 systems.
  • II. WHY 5G FOR INDUSTRIAL COMMUNICATION?: 5G unifies industrial connectivity through eMBB, mMTC, and uRLLC service categories with distinct throughput, density, latency, and reliability targets.The stated targets include up to 10 Gbps peak data rate, up to 100 nodes per square meter, and 1 ms user-plane latency with > 99.999% reliability.
  • II. WHY 5G FOR INDUSTRIAL COMMUNICATION?: 5G provides guaranteed QoS for critical industrial applications, built-in mobility support, and cellular security technology.
  • II. WHY 5G FOR INDUSTRIAL COMMUNICATION?: 5G positioning targets include accuracy within 10 cm and latency below 15 ms, which the paper identifies as important for emerging industrial applications.
  • II. WHY 5G FOR INDUSTRIAL COMMUNICATION?: Compared with Wi-Fi 6, 5G offers flexible air-interface design, native uRLLC and mobility support, QoS guarantees, and better scalability.Wi-Fi 6 is described as attractive because it provides lower latency than previous Wi-Fi generations.

III. PRIVATE 5G NETWORKS

A private 5G network is a localized 5G NR network for dedicated industrial connectivity, with scalable radio access and a lean core. Its dedicated operation enables control, customization, and dependable communication across applications.

  • A. Concept: Private 5G networks use scalable base stations and a lean core that may be separate from or co-located with the base station.They can support one industrial application or multiple applications with diverse requirements.
  • B. What Private 5G Offers?: Private 5G empowers industrial players to operate local networks with dedicated equipment and settings.
  • B. What Private 5G Offers?: Private 5G offers dedicated facility coverage, exclusive capacity, owner-controlled policies, and application-specific customization.Owner control can include user authorization, traffic prioritization, and keeping sensitive data on premises.
  • B. What Private 5G Offers?: Dedicated operation, customized service, intrinsic control, and uRLLC capabilities provide dependable industrial wireless communication.
  • B. What Private 5G Offers?: Private 5G can use network slicing to support mMTC, eMBB, and uRLLC applications within an industrial communication network.

C. Functional Architecture

Private 5G can be deployed independently, with a public network sharing the RAN, or with shared RAN and control-plane functions. Neutral-host deployment and service-continuity mechanisms provide additional integration options.

  • C. Functional Architecture: Standalone deployment keeps private-network data flows and user-plane and control-plane functions within the industrial premises.A firewall can connect the private network to public services when required.
  • C. Functional Architecture: Public-private shared RAN deployment shares radio access infrastructure while keeping network functions separate and confining private data flows to the industrial site.The 3GPP MOCN model enables this arrangement.
  • C. Functional Architecture: Shared RAN and control-plane deployment uses network slicing, with public-network control-plane functions and private-network data flows remaining on the industrial premises.
  • C. Functional Architecture: Neutral-host infrastructure is another deployment option, but private-network data flows are not necessarily confined to industrial premises.
  • C. Functional Architecture: 3GPP service continuity between private and public networks can use dual-radio registration or an N3IWF-based non-3GPP interworking approach.

D. Key Industrial Use-cases

Private 5G supports industrial applications requiring reliable, low-latency, scalable connectivity across factories, warehouses, utilities, hazardous sites, mines, and railways.

  • Industrial Automation: Private 5G can support field-level communication between industrial controllers and devices, offering a potential cable replacement for automation networks.These networks require very low latency and very high reliability.
  • Warehouse Operations: Private 5G can support image- or video-guided robots, synchronized robot fleets, and low-cost remote control in warehouse operations.Warehouse connectivity requires high reliability, very low and bounded latency, and high scalability.
  • Utility Networks: Private 5G enables private smart-metering networks for massive, secure data collection and may support real-time demand/response management.
  • Industrial Remote Operation: Private 5G enables remote operation of robotic equipment, cranes, construction machinery, and mining machinery at hazardous industrial sites.Remote operation can increase personnel safety and efficiency while reducing the on-site workforce.
  • Mining and Railway Operations: Mining and railway operations require reliable coverage and critical communications, including train radio and signaling with very high reliability and low latency.Private 5G is presented as an opportunity for mission-critical mining operations and railway communications.

IV. SPECTRUM OPPORTUNITIES FOR PRIVATE 5G

Private 5G networks can use three broad radio-spectrum categories, each representing a distinct deployment opportunity.

  • Spectrum Categories: Private 5G networks can be deployed in three different types of radio spectrum.
  • Spectrum Categories: Spectrum selection is therefore a central deployment dimension for private 5G networks.

A. Licensed Spectrum

Licensed spectrum offers predictable private 5G performance, while unlicensed operation can reduce spectrum dependency or add capacity through aggregation.

  • Licensed Spectrum: Licensed spectrum provides greater performance certainty with little interference risk and can be dedicated to a private network at an industrial site.Regional regulators may also allocate spectrum specifically for industrial networks.
  • Unlicensed Spectrum: Unlicensed private 5G may operate in the 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, or 6 GHz bands, which are open for shared use by multiple technologies.
  • Unlicensed Spectrum: Standalone unlicensed operation allows non-MNOs to deploy private 5G without dependence on licensed spectrum.Unlicensed 5G-NR operation is under investigation within 3GPP.
  • Unlicensed Spectrum: Licensed-anchor operation aggregates unlicensed spectrum with licensed spectrum to provide extra capacity for operator-deployed private networks.The model is similar to LTE licensed-assisted access.

C. Shared Licensed Spectrum

Shared licensed spectrum expands private 5G access for non-MNOs through coordinated and dynamic spectrum-use models.

  • Shared Licensed Spectrum: Shared licensed spectrum is a private 5G deployment option that opens possibilities especially for non-MNOs.
  • Shared Licensed Spectrum: Examples include the 3.5 GHz CBRS band in the United States, Germany’s 3.7–3.8 GHz band, and the United Kingdom’s 3.8–4.2 GHz band.
  • Shared Licensed Spectrum: Unlike unlicensed spectrum, shared licensed spectrum is associated with emerging coordinated and dynamic spectrum access paradigms.
  • Network Interworking: Private-network access to public services can use an N3IWF path through the private network.A user obtains IP connectivity through the private network, discovers the public network’s N3IWF, and establishes public-network connectivity through it.

A. Network Slicing for Private 5G

Network slicing creates application-tailored logical networks over shared private 5G infrastructure, but industrial deployments still require lightweight end-to-end guarantees and control-oriented resource allocation.

  • Network slicing fundamentals: Network slicing creates multiple logical networks over shared physical infrastructure, each tailored to an application's requirements.It can provide isolation across business, technical, functional, and operational perspectives.
  • RAN slicing: Higher-level RAN slicing enables network-wide resource sharing, end-to-end slicing, and independent customization across base stations.This approach avoids the resource-utilization and protocol-modification drawbacks of independently slicing each base station.
  • End-to-end slicing: Industrial performance guarantees require joint slicing of wireless, RAN, and core resources with function-level isolation across protocol layers.Modular adaptive slice composition and end-to-end property analysis are also required.
  • Application-specific customization: Application-specific customization optimizes slice resources for service requirements, while conventional human-centric allocation is unsuitable for control-centric applications.Control loops require coordinated uplink and downlink resource allocation rather than treating them independently.

C. Integration with TSN

TSN supplies deterministic Ethernet capabilities, while integrated private 5G extends industrial connectivity to mobile and flexible settings; their convergence depends on bridge-based integration and aligned resources.

  • TSN rationale: TSN provides guaranteed delivery, bounded low latency, and extremely low data loss, but wireless is needed for mobile and flexible industrial applications.Integrated TSN and 5G operation is presented as crucial for end-to-end deterministic connectivity.
  • Bridge-model integration: The bridge model makes 5G appear as a virtual TSN bridge, handling TSN requests through its own QoS framework and TSN translators.This avoids requiring 5G to support protocols and procedures belonging to the external TSN system.
  • Integration challenges: Bridge-based integration requires a TSN-compliant interface to centralized configuration and QoS alignment between TSN and 5G.These requirements support performance guarantees for TSN traffic.
  • Integration mechanisms: uRLLC packet duplication can support TSN frame replication and elimination, while slicing isolates TSN applications from other applications.Accurate time synchronization between TSN and 5G is another integration requirement.
  • Standardization: 3GPP Release 16 includes industrial enhancements covering TSN, time synchronization, Layer 2/3 optimization, unlicensed operation, and enhanced QoS.These initiatives address specific requirements for operating 5G in industrial domains.
  • Open innovation: OpenRAN, OpenAirInterface, Mosaic5G, and related initiatives support programmable, vendor-neutral, or open-source components across the 5G ecosystem.The ecosystem spans infrastructure, management, control, access, and core functions.
  • Open innovation: White-box private 5G can reduce dependence on vendors, infrastructure providers, and MNOs, but interoperability, validation, conformance, and certification remain challenges.Industrial certification must account for connectivity, interfacing, safety, and security implications.

VII. CONCLUDING REMARKS

The paper concludes that private 5G can deliver dependable wireless communication across industrial use-cases, with shared spectrum and open innovation supporting deployment. It identifies end-to-end slicing, control-centric allocation, and TSN integration as key design challenges and future-work priorities.

  • Concluding remarks: Private 5G networks can provide dependable industrial wireless communication across a wide range of industrial use-cases.The paper presents private networks as instrumental to realizing 5G's industrial potential.
  • Concluding remarks: Shared licensed spectrum and the emerging standardization and open innovation ecosystem are identified as catalysts for private 5G deployment.Private 5G also enables industrial players and non-MNOs to deploy their own networks.
  • Concluding remarks: Key private 5G design challenges include lightweight end-to-end slicing, control-centric radio resource allocation, and seamless TSN integration.The conclusion frames these challenges as central areas requiring further attention.
  • Future directions: Future work includes benchmarking private 5G against other wireless technologies, optimizing coverage, and enabling public-private interworking.The paper links TSN and private 5G with the prospect of a single standardized industrial solution.
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