5G is the fifth generation of wireless mobile communication technology. It provides faster speeds, lower latency, and better connectivity than its predecessor, 4G LTE. AWS Private 5G is a service that will make it easy for you to establish and manage your own private 5G network.
In this article, you will learn about the AWS Private 5G service, its features, and use cases.
Let’s get started.
What is AWS Private 5G?
AWS Private 5G is a managed service that makes deploying, operating, and scaling your private mobile network easy. AWS provides all the required hardware and software. It automates the setup and deployment process with support for on-demand scaling in case of increased network traffic.
Credit: aws.amazon.com
From AWS Management Console, you can specify the mobile network location and the required network capacity. AWS delivers and installs the appropriate hardware, which includes small-cell radio units, SIM cards, and the core 5G hardware.
Once the installation is complete, you must acknowledge the hardware receipt, and then you can start using the AWS Private 5G network. Each network supports one radio unit that provides speeds up to 150 Mbps across 100 SIMs.
As of July 2023, this service is only available in the following AWS regions:-
US East (Ohio)
US East (North Virginia)
US West (Oregon)
Now let us discuss some key concepts of AWS Private 5G.
Concepts of Private 5G
The following are some key concepts of AWS Private 5G.
Private 5G site: This is the physical location where you want to set up your private mobile network. This place should meet the power and networking requirements to successfully establish the network.
Private 5G equipment: The physical hardware includes cables, radio units, SIM cards, and any other networking appliances. These pieces of equipment are owned and managed by AWS.
Radio units: These devices emit RF signals for end-user equipment to connect to the Private 5G network.
SIM cards: They are supplied by AWS, and you can insert them into end-user devices to access your Private 5G network.
In the next section, we will look at some features of AWS Private 5G.
Features of AWS Private 5G
The following are some features of AWS Private 5G:-
Fully integrated hardware and software: This service delivers all the hardware and software needed for establishing a private mobile network, and it is automatically configured when the hardware is powered on at the location
CBRS spectrum: AWS Private 5G uses Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) General Authorized Access (GAA) spectrum tier in the US. Integration with the Spectrum Access System (SAS) provider is a part of the service, and AWS manages it
Device policy management: AWS Private 5G also supports identity and access management (IAM) which can help you safely manage the access between AWS services and the devices in your private network
Network monitoring: This service can also publish usage metrics to Amazon CloudWatch for network health monitoring. In CloudWatch, you can search for statistics related to your private network’s resources, including the number of active devices
Now let’s look at some benefits of using a private mobile network over WiFi.
Benefits of Using AWS Private 5G
Private mobile networks provide the following advantages over Wi-Fi:-
Private Spectrum: Private mobile networks operate on a licensed spectrum that can only be used by the owner of that network. While WiFi uses an unlicensed shared spectrum which has issues with congestion in areas with high population
Fair Distribution of Bandwidth: Private mobile technology is built on the scheduler concept, ensuring each device gets the required network bandwidth. On the other hand, Wi-Fi is contention-based, which means the devices compete over the available bandwidth, and this makes it a bad choice if your network expects more than 15-20 concurrent connections
Secure Connections: A private mobile network is more secure because the radio interface between the device and the radio is encrypted, and the device uses a SIM for authentication
Now that you know some of the benefits of using a private mobile network, you will learn about the use cases of AWS Private 5G in the next section.
Use-Cases of AWS Private 5G
The following are some real-life use cases of AWS Private 5G:-
Smart Manufacturing Facility: You can securely connect autonomous robots, vehicles, and legacy machines to achieve industrial network service level metrics within your manufacturing facilities
Security Devices: AWS Private 5G can be used for connecting video cameras, fingerprint scanners, or automated number plate scanners with a predictable bandwidth
College Campuses: With Private 5G, you can enable outdoor wireless internet connectivity for students and staff with physical SIM authentication to avoid misuse
Mining: Remote mining sites with limited internet connectivity can benefit from AWS Private 5G networks. These networks can support communication between workers, machinery, and central management
The next section will teach you how to subscribe to the AWS Private 5G service.
Getting Started with AWS Private 5G
The following are steps for subscribing to the private 5G service:-
Step 1: Visit the AWS Private 5G console from this link and click on the “Create Network” button
Step 2: Fill the all the required columns and then click on the “Create Network” button
Step 3: After creating the site, you must create an order to receive the required equipment from AWS.
As we discussed earlier, this service is only available in some selected regions.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a contention-based network?
A Contention-based network is a type of network where devices compete for access to the shared communication medium. In this, multiple devices attempt to transmit data at the same time, which can lead to collisions. It is only suitable for low-traffic applications.
What is a SIM card?
SIM card stands for Subscriber Identity Module. It is a small circuit card used in mobile devices, and it serves as a unique identifier that allows you to authenticate and connect to a mobile network securely.
What is IAM in AWS?
In AWS, IAM stands for Identity and Access Management. This service enables you to control access to your AWS resources securely. It allows you to manage users, groups, and roles and define their permissions to access and interact with various AWS services and resources.
Conclusion
To summarize, AWS Private 5G is a fully managed service that can be used for establishing your own private 5G cellular network. It has many use cases, such as secure connections and fair distribution of resources. It also has some benefits over traditional WiFi.
You can go through the following articles to learn more about different AWS services:-
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