Guglielmo Marconi, who created a practical radio wave-based wireless telegraph system and is therefore credited with the invention of radio, would surely have been amazed at how his creation has developed and changed society. Over 125 years since his first transmission of public wireless signals, most of us now carry a wireless transmitter in our pockets – a mobile phone. And the world has seen technology move from 2G through to 5G and even into space. The pace of change shows no sign of slowing down.
In April, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology published the UK’s Wireless Infrastructure Strategy, setting out its ambitions to make sure the UK reaps the benefits enabled by world-class digital infrastructure.
Targets named in this ambitious strategy include delivering standalone 5G coverage to all populated areas by 2030, working with Ofcom to continue to improve access to spectrum, and investing up to £100 million in future telecoms research and development. It seems that, as far as the UK government is concerned, more is better when it comes to the evolution of connectivity in all industries, and the pressure is on for our telecoms ecosystem to help deliver these ambitions.
Critical operations
Those in the UK are familiar with the four mobile network operators (MNOs) and how we rely on them to provide us with high-quality, contiguous connectivity across all our geographies. However, there are various circumstances where delivering connectivity becomes even more challenging, whether that’s due to high footfall on a busy high street in an urban canyon or delivering high quality mobile in a Grade I listed building.
To extend connectivity into certain environments, it makes both financial and logistical sense for MNOs to collaborate with a neutral host provider. A neutral host can then make this happen via a single solution that covers all operators, meaning that no matter which network someone is on, they can enjoy assured connectivity. When it comes to indoor spaces, whether airport, skyscraper or conference venue, using the expertise of an in-building specialist guarantees that a network will be tailored to an organisation’s specific needs. It also ensures that any and all location-specific regulations are adhered to.
But sometimes a customer’s business requirements dictate use cases that collectively demand the type of connectivity that an extension of the public network cannot provide. If there are particularly stringent security demands, thousands of devices to connect or super low latency needed (or all three!), a private network offers the customer’s business a dedicated network. Private networks can cover wide areas, can be 4G, 5G or both, and can be deployed both indoors and outdoors. They allow capacity, resilience and reliability that meet all the customer’s business model needs. And, as their name suggests, are incredibly secure.
The benefits keep stacking up
For an organisation investigating using a private network, a useful approach to building a business case can be use case “stacking”. An organisation should identify and aggregate all the activities and services that could potentially be supported by the same network infrastructure. Then they can calculate the potential cumulative return on investment for all these activities and services. This helps take the pressure off an individual use case needing to justify the cost of the network or service. It also gives the organisation a more consolidated idea of the demand for the private network and helps maximise the value generated by a single deployment.
In addition to this, if a use case is identified after the private network is already operational, it’s still possible for it to be added on the same network, as they’re inherently adaptable to business growth and can often be configured remotely. This ultimately increases the value gained from a single infrastructure deployment.
To understand this in practice, take the example of a busy international airport. It’s an excellent location for the use of a private network and for use-case “stacking”, such as providing assured operational communication systems for the airport’s teams or more quickly processing passengers’ biometric data to help speed up their journey. These services need to be carried out simultaneously, with zero margin for error. And as they are likely to change in the future a private network can flex as needs arise without the need for potentially costly extra cabling or reconfiguration of access points.
By no means an “also RAN”
Another key focus of the Wireless Infrastructure Strategy is open radio access network (open RAN). Where once the individual components of the RAN all needed to come from the same vendor, the government is trying to encourage disaggregation in the RAN to increase competition and diversify the supply chain. Open RAN allows the opportunity to “mix and match” equipment from different vendors. While this is absolutely the direction to move in architecturally, and open RAN could be a game-changer for our industry, it’s important to recognise that it’s still in its early stages.
We’re supporting in-field open RAN trials with appropriate customers of ours. The potential of the technology is exciting but more real-world testing will be required before open RAN can be deployed publicly as standard. Coming from a customer-focused business, reliability remains a crucial factor. We’re looking forward to the day when the technology is reliable enough for us to use with our acute hospital customers, or on trading floors of financial institutions.
Security as priority
Many of us are familiar with end-to-end encryption on messaging apps like WhatsApp, but, as in most areas of our society, security has become a major priority in the past few years in the telecoms industry. Given the critical role of telecommunications for the UK economy, prioritising steps to keep them secure is necessary to instill confidence in the industry, thereby securing future investment.
The Telecoms Security Bill 2021 mandated that operators implement additional security measures within their supply chains, requiring providers to address and minimise any negative impacts caused by security breaches. Organisations must implement the first set of these security measures by March 2024 and Ofcom, the UK's communications regulator, will be empowered to monitor and enforce specific security requirements that are enshrined in the Bill. All of this assures our customers that mobile communications are a connectivity layer that businesses can trust.
In the same way it would have been impossible for the father of wireless communications, Guglielmo Marconi, to picture the connectivity of today, we can’t know what the future will look like in another 125 years. What we do know is that the need for connectivity is only increasing and those in the telecoms sectors have a crucial role to play. Our continued commitment will help the UK cement its position as a global leader in wireless technology – watch this space.
