What is AWS Private 5G & Is AWS Competing with Telcos?
Telecom providers started to roll out 5G, and the technology is becoming more common every month. The top public cloud providers also enter the competition with more cloud-oriented solutions. Recently, AWS announced the new AWS Private 5G service in AWS re:Invent 2021, the most significant cloud event of the calendar. The announcement was one of the most surprising news from the event, next to AWS Cloud WAN.
Like many other new AWS service announcements, AWS Private 5G is on Preview Stage and only available for some customers. If you are interested in using it and from the US, you can signup here.
Let’s see below what AWS offers with this latest offering.
What is 5G, and how is it different from its predecessor, 4G?
5G is the fifth generation of the technologies used to provide cellular network connectivity to mobile devices. Many Mobile Network Operators and Mobile Device Manufacturers already support 5G. Most essential improvements from 4G include higher speed, larger capacity, and ultra-low latency.
In numbers, 5G’s
- Theoretical speed is between 10–30 Gbps, compared to 4G’s 300 Mbps,
- Latency is 1ms, compared to 4G’s 35–100ms,
- Reliability is 99,999%.
What is Private 5G?
Private 5G is a type of 5G network intended for the exclusive use of an organization. Depending on the deployment model, Private 5G networks have different levels of privacy. They don’t share the traffic in their allocated spectrum with other organizations.
Private 5G also provides enterprises numerous opportunities, especially for manufacturers who require mobile, high-capacity networks to enable smart factories and IoT applications.
What does AWS offer with AWS Private 5G?
With its Private 5G offering, AWS provides a managed service that enables organizations to build their private cellular network quickly and straightforwardly. For the introduction video by the service’s Product Manager, you can check this AWS Private 5G re:Invent 2021 session. As a side note, AWS Private 5G also offers customers their own 4G/LTE option besides 5G.
What are the use cases of Private 5G?
Companies usually consider Private 5G when Public 5G/LTE and Wi-Fi are not ideal. Security, poor coverage, capacity issues are the main concerns for this consideration. Some of the top uses cases are:
- IoT applications requiring low latency and extended coverage; for example, autonomous vehicles
- Industrial outdoor environments are too challenging for enterprise wireless (802.11); for example, the mining industry
- Providing high-bandwidth content in a dense setting, smart facilities; for example, sporting events in a stadium
- Logistics: tracking, monitoring, and sorting packages and shipments integrated with inventory systems
- AR/VR integrated mobile video
What are the components/resources of this service?
AWS provides the SIM cards, small-cell radio units, and the necessary software running on these hardware components. Currently, the service is in preview in the US and uses the generally authorized Citizens Broadband Radio Service(CBRS) spectrum. As a result, the customer only needs to provide power, IP addressing, and connectivity to the AWS cloud.
Do other companies offer any other similar services? What products are competitors of this product?
Although not precisely the same, there are many other Private 5G products on the market. For example, from the close competitors in the cloud industry, Microsoft has a similar service named Azure Private Edge Zones. In contrast, Google prefers partnerships instead of offering a service.
There are different solutions for both hardware and software in the Telecommunications industry. We can give NTT’s Private 5G solution as an example Private 5G product from a telecommunications company. Finally, networking or information technology companies like Cisco or Nokia also offer solutions for this field by themselves or through their ecosystem partners.
We can also use the other Private 5G services, but what is the added value of using this service?
The primary added value of this service is ease-of-use. AWS makes it easy and fast to order, install, and have a Private 5G network. All the required infrastructure is provided pre-configured by a single vendor, AWS. The customer needs to insert the SIM cards and start using the service without obtaining any spectrum right-to-use. Also, the SIMs become IAM resources, and the customers can easily apply prioritization/bandwidth for devices and applications.
It possesses excellent value for start-ups and companies who don’t have large IT departments or networking experience because the service is very straightforward. As a result, AWS positions itself differently from other solution/service providers.
We don’t have the exact pricing details yet since the service is at the Preview stage. But do we know any of the factors affecting the pricing?
That’s another difference with AWS Private 5G. AWS has pay-as-you-go pricing based on the coverage and capacity, not the number of connected devices. Besides, there are no upfront fees like setup or purchase costs either. Thanks to on-demand pricing, having private 5G networks can be cheaper than other solutions.
Does it make sense to use AWS Private 5G when you are not an AWS customer?
Definitely, it is a cloud-based managed service offering for private cellular networks. So you don’t need to be an existing AWS customer to start using this service. But of course, for the current customers, it adds more value since they can use the advantage of having connectivity and integrations.
Is AWS competing with Telecom providers or other Cloud providers for Private 5G?
As a solution provider, yes. On the technical side, AWS is going different by using unlicensed CBRS to transmit data, while licensed telecom firms hold the rights to sell nationwide commercial Private 5G spectrums. That is the noticeable technical difference. And because of this, there are criticisms of this as organizations can compete for the same spectrum, causing conflicts.
We also don’t know how this will pay out in countries other than the US because spectrum ranges are different in every country. For example, in Europe, there are so many countries. As a result, solution providers need to handle too many regulatory regimes and local interests, which might be the biggest challenges. It is not yet clear how AWS will overcome this.
AWS has been offering unanticipated services on the networking topic recently. So what should we expect from AWS next?
AWS infrastructure became so immense that they can quickly turn the benefits of having this size by partnering with other networking or security companies and providing new services. We don’t expect AWS to become a networking company by offering standalone networking products. Instead, we can expect AWS to continue using the advantage of having this infrastructure and vast customers and offer networking & security services that can be crucial for its customers.
There are also signs that AWS will step up its Edge Computing game. I am inquisitive about what will happen in the following years with IoT, Private 5G, Cloud WAN, and Edge Computing. So Cloud providers are fighting for the public cloud computing game and are also testing themselves in the new waters.
What can be interesting is that if this Private 5G plays out well, AWS might invest more and take a more significant chunk of the Private 5G pie. Or maybe even become the clear leader of edge computing.
I hope this article made a good introduction for AWS Private 5G. Thanks to my friends for helping me with it.
This post was the last re:Invent 2021 content from my side. I will continue with a Cloud Development Kit series in the following weeks.
See you in the next ones, cheers!
