For enterprises, powerful next-generation private networks can connect all sorts of underlying technologies from LTE to 5G to Wi-Fi 6 to edge solutions. There are endless opportunities to implement private networks in warehouses, factories, educational institutions, campuses, sports areas, retail locations, and more.
At Intel, we see these private networks playing a pivotal role in future enterprise success. With enhanced control and connectivity, enterprises can go to market faster with applications, provide real-time and custom services, deliver better user experiences, and act on insights from ever-growing amounts of data.
To unleash these benefits, Intel provides a tested, clear path to stand up private networks. Our portfolio of products and solutions is designed to meet today’s and tomorrow’s requirements. What’s more, innovations like Intel® Smart Edge, a single-box multi-access edge platform, speed up and simplify private LTE and 5G network deployments. And that’s just the beginning.
Increasing rollouts across industries
Enterprises are eager to pursue private networks. In fact, IDC forecasts that the private LTE/5G infrastructure market will reach $5.7 billion by 2024.1 According to Deloitte, private network investment will spread across three hotbeds of installation from 2020 through 2025: Ports, hubs, and airports; warehouses and factories; and greenfield opportunities such as education, campuses, concerts, or malls for both short- and long-term use.2
This comes as no surprise. Across industries, the ability to configure networks for location- or vertical-specific needs and meet critical requirements for latency, bandwidth, coverage, reliability, and security provides high value. Especially given the increasing complexity of data security, benefits such as ownership over user connectivity and keeping data on-site can be a compelling motivator to pursue a private network.
We’re joining forces with industry leaders such as systems integrators and managed service providers to define, test, and deploy private network solutions. I’m excited to share that we signed an agreement with Federated Wireless, a network infrastructure managed service provider and leader in Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) private networks. As part of our technology collaboration, Federated Wireless plans to utilize Intel® Smart Edge to pursue private network trials in the education vertical and more, giving end-users reliable access to high-quality connectivity.
Intel is also involved in several projects to connect airports and seaports around the world as well as manufacturing and other greenfield installations.
Connecting students to equitable education
Another example of the promise of private networks has emerged in response to the Covid-19 pandemic: remote learning. Earlier this week we announced the work we’ve been doing with partners to provide a CBRS (Citizens Broadband Radio Service) private network for Leataata Floyd Elementary School and its surrounding areas.
Leataata Floyd Elementary School is within the Sacramento City Unified School District—one of 14 in California designated as underserved. Reaching over three-fourths of a mile, the private network solution provides students and teachers with the high-speed connectivity they need for learning. I’m proud to say our efforts are contributing to closing the digital divide in the area.
To enable the school’s private network, Amazon Web Services delivers edge computing on Intel architecture, Megh Computing brings its Video Analytics Solution (VAS) and edge applications, JMA wireless contributes radio access network functionality, and Dell provides computers for the students. Based on the potential this private network demonstrates, California plans to replicate the proven template and scale to the 13 remaining underserved districts.
Enabling connectivity from rural to retail to residential
In Snohomish County, Washington, we are working with the 5G Food Resiliency project and other 5G Open Innovation Lab partners to provide dedicated access to a 5G-capable CBRS LTE private network. Backed by Intel® Xeon® Scalable processors and Intel Smart Edge, the network provides a robust cloud-native environment for developers to create and test precision agriculture and food logistics applications. I’m delighted that Intel is a part of unleashing 5G and edge to support a range of industries including ones that power our societal fabric such as agriculture.
Across cities in the U.S. and abroad, we are working on several key projects that will change and enhance daily life. Examples include additional agricultural projects as well as entertainment, education and connected homes and communities.
Intel is delivering on private networks today
As the demand for private networks grows, customers are exploring how to enable innovative applications using the distinctive properties of complementary wireless technologies like 5G and Wi-Fi 6. At every turn, our customers can continue to count on Intel to bring the experience, partner ecosystem, and portfolio to support their connectivity and business goals.
Intel’s silicon and software solutions are best suited for private networks. We provide turn-key edge solutions like Intel Smart Edge and open-source solutions like OpenNESS. We offer proven RAN reference architecture like FlexRAN, a set of common APIs for CPUs, and accelerators with Intel® OpenVINO™. Our Intel® Market Ready Solutions are optimized for IoT applications generating data-intensive workloads.
As always, we continue to participate in and influence industry consortiums and the open-source community while enabling the ecosystem to produce high-end solutions for this growing market.
Would you like to learn more about private LTE and 5G networks? Watch the replay of my recent Fierce Wireless Private Networks Summit super session, where Transparent Path, innov8.ag and I discuss a variety of use cases and examples.
1. Businesswire, “IDC Forecasts the Private LTE/5G Infrastructure Market to Reach $5.7 Billion in 2024 as Demand from Mission-critical Organizations Drives Early Investment,” Jan. 14, 2021.
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210114005786/en/IDC-Forecasts-the-Private-LTE5G-Infrastructure-Market-to-Reach-5.7-Billion-in-2024-as-Demand-from-Mission-Critical-Organizations-Drives-Early-Investment
2. Deloitte, “Technology, Media, and Telecommunications Predictions 2020,” 2019. https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/at/Documents/technology-media-telecommunications/at-tmt-predictions-2020.pdf
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Caroline Chan is General Manager of 5G Infrastructure Division within Intel's Network Platform Group. Caroline has overall responsibility for Intel's global network infrastructure strategy and solution development related to 5th-generation wireless technology. Chan and her team identify and develop use cases that incorporate the Internet of Things, innovation in wireless technologies and deployment models.