According to the Department of Telecom, the rollout of 5G networks could provide a strong foundation for the growth of India’s digital economy. The plan for the first phase specifies 5G to be rolled out to 13 cities across India. These include Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Chandigarh, Gurugram, Hyderabad, Lucknow, Pune, Gandhinagar, Ahmedabad, and Jamnagar.
The 5G adoption is inevitable across the globe. A recent research report “Private 5G here and now” by NTT Ltd., and Economist Impact reveals insights from a survey of 216 CIOs and senior decision-makers from the UK, US, Japan, and Germany examining the industry challenges around the implementation and adoption of private 5G. The research shows the acceleration of 5G networks as organizations look to improve security, reliability, and speed. 90% of them believe that private 5G will become the new normal for networks. It also shows that 51% of the organizations plan to deploy it by the end of 2024. Amidst a growing number of discussions, these networks are celebrated for their flexibility and ease of deployment. Although it may not meet the requirements of all organizations, private 5G certainly meets the challenges of many structures that want more secure and faster connectivity.
In India, the government is set to be investing in last-mile network accessibility for 4G and 5G in villages across the country. A robust digital infrastructure is planned in rural India as well. However, across many regions in the country, residents are still using 2G and 3G and a high-speed network still is a dream here. Suitable infrastructure for optic fiber cables and towers has to be built and new gadgets to run 5G have to be developed. The woes do not end here. In addition to the existing glitches in the path of 5G related to the system, 5G comes with its challenges too.
Not everything is hunky dory with 5G
According to the American operator Verizon, private 5G ʺis a wireless network, secure, scalable, and tailor-made for the sites and operational needs [of companies]. By providing consistent and predictable coverage and bandwidth, this dynamic network underpins emerging technologies and applications that will redefine and reinvent [business].ʺ
The cost factor is a key consideration
Despite several claims regarding the advantages of 5G, it is not a suitable network for all companies to implement it. It is critical to have a well-thought-out plan directed upstream and calculated in the medium to long term. At the outset, setting up a private 5G network is still expensive and businesses must start by anticipating their return on investment (RoI). One has to consider the additional revenue that a private 5G network can generate based on higher-speed communication and the associated services it can support. Determining the enhanced security capabilities of a private network will also allow companies to offer more services or applications to their customers.
Expertise and skillsets are rare
Organizations have to assess the infrastructure and work environment and equip the IT team with the required skillsets to operate in this type of network. This training is important as the speed and complexity of 5G will require ongoing monitoring of latency and throughput to immediately understand the ‘what, where, and why’ network issues. The network team members who are experts on these subjects will become responsible for deploying and maintaining the critical infrastructure of these networks.
More attention to security and threat protection
Being a software-based network, 5G will not be much impacted by built-in bottlenecks which are more characteristic of physical networks. However, 5G networks have expanded bandwidth connecting more users and devices, which means a larger threat landscape. This demands more attention to security issues making threat protection and cyber resilience a key priority. Private networks are considered to be more secure and gaining more traction with their adoption getting accelerated. Furthermore, carriers can create secure and reliable private 5G networks even in areas where wired connectivity is difficult or unavailable. Businesses can also establish private 5G inside structures where 5G is not yet available from their operators, thereby allowing the immediate availability of fast connectivity. This private and internal 5G network is not just fast but delivers the required privacy. Highly secure venues such as airports or government agencies can benefit from such private networks which are owned by these organizations.
Smart visibility is the key
Yes, holistic visibility is the key to achieving reliability for 5G networks. This ultimately helps gain profitability for technological innovations that are made possible by 5G’s dramatically faster connectivity. Such visibility into wireless networks can give Communication Service Providers (CSPs) the insights required to optimize network performance and also effectively monetize emerging technologies such as smart cities and autonomous vehicles. Smart visibility enables CSPs to gain better control and make better decisions. As 5G and virtualization dominate the future direction of CSPs, smart visibility offers an independent approach to reduce dependency on vendors, lower costs, and foster innovation.
Keeping all the above factors into consideration, 5G may not be the relevant choice for all structures, so organizations and CSPs must first determine if this is the next logical step to take. However, since it requires businesses to access bandwidth on sanctioned 5G spectrum, it is crucial to understand the pros and cons of each option before rolling it out. Irrespective of the path businesses choose, it is however essential to have independent, holistic, end-to-end visibility. This will ensure service levels and real-time analytics while powering the orchestration layer for automation as well as to achieve critical business results.
About the author:
Gaurav Mohan is VP Sales – South Asia & Middle East at Netscout.
