Critical business processes benefit from private mobile networks

In the Netherlands there are three providers that offer 4G/LTE connectivity, but for businesses there is another option: private mobile networks. During a panel discussion The benefits of such private networks, especially for critical business processes, will be discussed during the Telecom Infra event 2019.

By: Dimitri Reijerman

The discussion will be led by Koen Mioulet, solutions manager enterprise mobility at Cellnex Telecom and also a member of the expert group KMBG (Critical Mobile Broadband Users) of the industry organisation BTG. Furthermore, employees of Schiphol and transhipment company ECT will participate in the panel discussion.

According to Mioulet, a private LTE network offers proven advantages: “As a company or organization, you install private LTE networks for your own use on your premises or in your office building. But why should I install my own 4G network if parties like KPN are already doing so? The reason is that a company can influence the performance of its LTE network, recorded in KPIs. Companies like Shell or Schiphol can therefore consider installing a Private LTE network for IoT applications and machine-2-machine communication, for example, which gives them complete control over uptime, latency and throughput speed.”

The costs of such a private network are, in Mioulet's view, well justifiable: "Such a network probably costs more than separate subscriptions with providers, but many business-critical processes are more than worth having under complete control yourself. Moreover, the costs can be reasonable. For a few tens of thousands of euros, you can already set up an LTE network."

Practical example: ETC

Mioulet gives a practical example of a successful implementation of a Private LTE network: “ETC in Rotterdam has its own LTE network with clear KPIs. The private network is used to control automated guided vehicles. They concluded years ago that they needed a private LTE network because ETC cannot sufficiently guarantee operational reliability with Wi-Fi or a public 4G network.”

With the possibility for companies to obtain a license for their own piece of spectrum, the Netherlands is quite unique, according to Mioulet: “In our country, we have reserved special frequency bands for business networks: the 1800MHz and 3.5GHz bands. I can apply for 20MHz or 40MHz on these. The spectrum is issued technology-agnostic, so the ministry does not ask what type of network you want to roll out on it.”

He continues: “With the license, you are assigned a maximum transmission power, so that a certain frequency can be reused somewhere else in the Netherlands. But as a company, you can get those frequencies and that is unique, because not all countries offer that. These licenses are issued on a first come, first served basis. So you should not wait too long, because otherwise you could miss out.”

Benefits of 5G

The introduction of 5G networks is now imminent. According to Mioulet, this offers even more possibilities: “5G offers the possibility of slicing. This allows you to create a subnetwork with exactly the performance you need for your company even better than 4G. You can create a network with exactly the desired latency, throughput, resilience and spectral efficiency that you need. 5G makes the whole story even better.”

Finally, Mioulet would like to point out the existence of private 2G networks that have been proving themselves for years. “There are hundreds of them. These GSM connections are used, for example, in healthcare or by aid workers.”

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