Solution Brief
Saguna Hybrid Private Public Network Capture the 5G Future, Today
Saguna HPPN Solution | © Saguna Networks | www.saguna.net
Connected devices in the Industry 4.0 Era In recent years, the proliferation of internet-
connected devices has given rise to the
Internet-of-Things (IoT). According to Gartner,
the number of connected devices will be over
20 billion by 2020, while total spending on IoT
endpoints and services will be over $2 trillion.
For modern industrial organizations, IoT is
rapidly becoming an integral, central element of
their business strategy.
The explosion of IoT is driving investments in a
wide range of innovative applications,
connecting devices with IT systems to increase
productivity, reducing costs and improving
security and safety. The deployment of such
applications in industrial settings is the main
enabler of the fourth industrial revolution
(Industry 4.0), which is currently disrupting
entire sectors of the economy, including
manufacturing, energy, oil & gas, mining,
logistics & transport, as well as the maritime
industry. In these sectors, the deployment of IoT
devices (e.g., different types of sensors, RFID
(Radio Frequency Identification) devices,
Programmable Logic Controllers (PLC), industrial
robots, and various types of smart machines), is
enabling novel digital applications with a proven
Return on Investment (ROI). IoT-driven
applications include predictive maintenance,
flexible automation, mass customization, digital
twins, autonomous vehicles, zero defect
manufacturing and optimized supply chain
management. Industry 4.0 is, therefore,
propelled by the connectivity and deployment of
smart devices and cyber-physical systems in
industrial settings as part of the Industrial IoT
(IIoT) paradigm.
The advent of Industry 4.0 opens
unprecedented business opportunities for
mobile network operators and network solution
integrators. In the coming years millions of
warehouses and industrial plants must become
equipped with reliable, secure and high-
performance IIoT networks based on novel
deployments that address the connectivity
challenges of the fourth industrial revolution.
Saguna HPPN Solution | © Saguna Networks | www.saguna.net
IIoT Connectivity Challenges The proliferation of IIoT applications in
enterprises employ a wide range of connected
devices. To effectively connect people and
‘things’ enterprises must face several
connectivity challenges, including:
Privacy and Data Protection: For
many enterprises, IIoT
applications deliver highly
sensitive data. Thus, IIoT
deployments need to ensure
secure communications and protection of
privacy-sensitive datasets. This means keeping
the data secure on-premise, at all times; away
from public network and internet-based cloud
services to prevent exposure to malicious third-
parties.
Support for very large numbers
of heterogeneous devices,
including advanced (“smart”)
wireless devices and battery-
operated devices: State of the art industrial
plants comprise thousands of sensors,
automation devices and various other types of
networked objects. A significant part of these
devices are small devices that measure the
context of the facility (e.g., humidity,
temperature), as well as devices that track and
trace physical objects and processes both
indoors and outdoors. In several cases, smart
objects such as Augmented Reality (AR) helmets
and glasses, Automated Guided Vehicles (AGV),
drones and industrial robots, are deployed as
well. IIoT connectivity must, therefore, support
the volume and heterogeneity of these devices
in terms of low-latency and data volume
requirements, mobility support and battery
lifespan (i.e. power consumption).
Handling of high bandwidth and
high-volume data streams: Many
IIoT applications (e.g., predictive
maintenance, digital simulations,
digital twins) deal with large
volumes of data, including high-velocity video
streams. The latter are bandwidth savvy and fall
in the realm of Big Data applications. Thus, IIoT
connectivity should enable the reliable collection
of large volumes of data streams with very high
ingestion rates.
Complete Connectivity
Coverage (Indoor & Outdoor):
IIoT use cases are deployed in
both indoor and outdoor
environments. In many cases
indoor and outdoor coverage co-exist in the
same business scenario, as is typically the case
with logistics applications. Therefore, support
for both indoor and outdoor coverage is a key
requirement for most operators and enterprises
that deploy IIoT applications.
Public network connectivity:
Public network access is
essential in industrial plants.
Virtually every employee, guest
and subcontractor carries a cell-
phone and expects mobile network connectivity
for calls, text, as well as Internet access for
personal reasons and as part of their job.
Total cost of ownership (TCO): It
goes without saying that cost, in
terms of CAPEX and OPEX, plays
a critical role in selecting a
connectivity solution. Gains in
productivity and efficiency must outweigh the
costs, when calculating the solution’s return on
investment (ROI).
Saguna HPPN Solution | © Saguna Networks | www.saguna.net
The State of Practice - Limitations of Existing Solutions Enterprises are seeking connectivity solutions,
which can support the above-listed features in a
flexible, scalable and cost-efficient way. For this
reason, a significant part of IoT spending is
currently focused on the design and deployment
of effective connectivity solutions.
Today, WiFi and Long-Term Evolution (LTE) are
the two mainstream wireless connectivity
technologies. In the case of LTE, enterprises are
investigating Private LTE solutions, to create
their private networks.
The following chart provides a brief presentation
and comparative analysis of WiFi and LTE
characteristics, with particular emphasis on their
properties that relate to IIoT connectivity
requirements.
WiFi Private LTE
Indoor coverage
Low power hotspots provide indoor coverage.
4 Deploying small-cells and C-RAN extends mobile LTE coverage to indoor locations.
Outdoor coverage
Limited number of options with relatively poor coverage and quite high cost.
2 Provides outdoor coverage with high-data rates, yet available solutions are high power.
Wireless penetration
Limited penetration as signals in high frequencies (i.e. 2.4 or 5 GHz) do not maintain their strength as they pass through walls.
Excellent penetration through walls and other obstructions as low frequency signals (i.e. 800 MHz) can be used.
Low power communication
WiFi standards do not support low-power IoT devices.
Supports the LTE-M Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) connectivity option, which is excellent for mission critical applications
Secure communication
Provides security features, but only weak encryption and is prone to various attacks.
It is bullet proof as it provides cellular based security based on SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) credentials.
Public network connectivity
Does not support the deployment of public network services.
Limited access to public network services due to interference. Employees need dual SIM phones or 2 phones. Visitors may have no connectivity at the facility.
Total cost of ownership
It is based on simple IT management and affordable equipment leading to low TCO (Total Cost of Ownership).
Incurs significant CAPEX and OPEX, due to expensive equipment, high spectrum licensing costs and the need to maintain a complex mobile network infrastructure.
Saguna HPPN Solution | © Saguna Networks | www.saguna.net
As evident from the chart, WiFi is a simple and
cost-effective solution, which provides some of
the desired features for IIoT applications, while
offering a compelling CAPEX and OPEX
proposition. However, it does not offer strong
security features and is not very effective in
providing outdoor coverage and in penetrating
walls. WiFi works with a limited number of IoT
devices, which is only a small subset of the
devices used in IIoT applications (e.g., most
automation devices do not come with WiFi
support). Hence, despite its ubiquity, WiFi fails to
meet some of the most essential IIoT
connectivity requirements.
On the other hand, LTE technologies offer a
range of compelling advantages over WiFi. As a
prominent example, they offer cellular based
security based on SIM (and eSIM) (Subscriber
Identity Module) credentials, along with very
good coverage of both indoor and outdoor
environments. Moreover, they support virtually
all types of devices that are used in IIoT and
Industry4.0 applications.
Based on these properties of LTE technologies,
enterprises and mobile network operators can
deploy “Private LTE” solutions that address the
stringent connectivity requirements of the
fourth industrial revolution. Private LTE is a local
LTE network utilizing dedicated network
equipment to service a premise with specific IoT
applications and services. It is independent of
the wide-area macro network. Private LTE
deployments can offer the full spectrum of LTE
technologies to support the connectivity
requirements of Industry 4.0 applications.
However, they are also associated with some
important cost, deployment and operation
concerns such as:
High spectrum licensing costs needed for
supporting narrow band communications
and ensuring LTE’s wireless penetration.
Interference that leads to very bad quality
public network coverage or even no
coverage at all in the facility of the
enterprise.
Employees must carry dual-sim phones or
two different phones to have both public and
private connectivity at work.
The need for dedicated and complex mobile
network equipment, which is expensive to
purchase and to maintain, leading to high
capital and operating costs for Private LTE
deployments.
Overall, the complexity and relatively high cost
of Private LTE networks raises the bar for their
deployment in industrial environments and their
emerging wave of Industry4.0 applications.
Saguna HPPN Solution | © Saguna Networks | www.saguna.net
Introducing Hybrid Private Public Networks Motivated by the lack of a single, holistic
connectivity solution that combines the
functionality and reliability of LTE with the
simplicity and cost-effectiveness of WiFi, Saguna
offers a novel edge-computing solution for IIoT
and Industry4.0 applications. The solution, called
Hybrid Private-Public Network (HPPN), leverages
multi-access edge cloud computing (MEC) to
deliver private, local network functionality over
the public LTE network.
Saguna HPPN is a virtualized software solution
running on COTS (Commercial Off the Shelf)
servers. It does not require specialized hardware
or dedicated networked equipment. This makes
it easy for mobile operators to deploy and for the
enterprise IT teams to maintain it. The solution
features the Saguna vEdge MEC platform, which
is deployed on-premise. Based on a powerful yet
lean traffic engine, Saguna vEdge steers all
private enterprise data to the on-premise data-
center, while directing calls and other data
communication to the public LTE network.
HPPN private, local connectivity: With Saguna’s
HPPN solution, enterprises are in control of their
sensitive data. Leveraging mobile LTE network
infrastructure, deployed by their mobile
operator, the enterprise can easily configure
Saguna vEdge to determine what
communication should be kept strictly on
premise.
HPPN public network access: Saguna’s HPPN
solution operates seamlessly within the public
mobile LTE network, which is deployed on
premise at the enterprise by a network operator.
All communications, not designated as private by
the enterprise, are steered directly to the public
LTE network. This approach provides high
quality mobile network connectivity throughout
the facility to employees and visitors.
Saguna HPPN Solution | © Saguna Networks | www.saguna.net
Saguna HPPN solution highlights
Fully automated on-premise edge/cloud
communications, which is in-line with the
edge computing paradigm of IIoT
applications.
Open platform, that enables enterprises to
flexibly deploy and test new applications and
use cases in minutes.
Centralized management of the edge
computing infrastructure in the case of
support large campuses, branches or plants,
where multiple edge servers must be
deployed.
Built in security and data routing, along with
cost-effective scalability based on the
deployment of multiple servers and load
balancing characteristics.
Standards support based on compliance to
the ETSI Mobile Edge Computing (MEC)
specifications, which ensures
interoperability and boosts technological
longevity.
Overall, HPPN is a powerful, yet lean solution: It
is high performance, reliable, secure and
versatile, while being simple to deploy and cost-
effective to manage. It obviates the need for
deploying expensive and dedicated equipment,
while alleviating relevant spectrum concerns.
Based on these characteristics HPPN delivers
today several of the anticipated benefits and
value propositions that will be delivered by 5G
during the next few years.
Benefits for Mobile Operators
Coverage and new revenue streams: HPPN
enables mobile operators to provide improved
coverage on the private properties of their
customers (e.g., industrial plants), while
generating new revenues from enterprise
customers and new IIoT devices.
Increased traffic due to employees’ stickiness:
HPPN facilitates MNOs to generate ‘stickiness’
with enterprise employees, as the latter are using
public network services after working hours. This
can increase the traffic over MNOs’ existing
networks.
Employees loyalty and reduction of churn: HPPN
offers employees with access to all possible LTE
network services (e.g., mobility and public
Internet access), which increases their loyalty
with the MNO that deploys the HPPN and
prevents churn due to the adoption of other
private networks.
Saguna HPPN Solution | © Saguna Networks | www.saguna.net
Conclusions and Outlook At the dawn of Industry4.0, industrial
organizations need secure, reliable, versatile and
cost-effective connectivity solutions to meet
Industrial IoT requirements in terms of latency,
performance, data protection and local storage
of private data. To support a wide range of
different IoT devices, in-door and out-door
coverage as well as wall penetration, is required.
The offering of such solutions presents a great
business opportunity for mobile network
operators to expand their enterprise customer
base, generate new revenues and prevent churn.
Today’s wireless connectivity solutions, namely
WiFi and private LTE, are unable to provide
enterprises with a complete connectivity
solution; one that meets all the requirements of
IIoT, is cost-effective and simple to operate.
To address this market need and opportunity,
Saguna has created a novel Hybrid Private-Public
Network solution. This standards-based,
virtualized software solution combines the
benefits of LTE networks, with simple-to-operate
local network functionality in a cost-effective
way. It enables industrial organizations to
benefit from all LTE flavors in support of varying
Industry 4.0 requirements including data
volumes, bandwidth, device types, access to
public networks, data privacy and more. The
HPPN edge computing solution is simple and cost
effective both to deploy and to manage, leading
to affordable CAPEX and OPEX, lowering
adoption barriers and promoting low-latency 5G
ready connectivity for enterprises.
HPPN enables industrial organizations and
mobile network operators to take advantage of
5G capabilities today, several years prior to the
commercial deployment of 5G at scale. As such
it enables enterprises and mobile operators to
ride the wave of Industry 4.0 sooner and on the
right track.
Benefits for Enterprises
HPPN enables enterprises to take advantage of a
public mobile network at the cost, simplicity and
privacy of enterprise WiFi. In particular, the
HPPN solution allows enterprises to leverage
public network services when they need them
and without a need to invest on infrastructures
that are costly to deploy and operate.
With HPPN, enterprises can retain control of
their private datasets, which they can store
locally and distinguish from other traffic. In
particular, enterprises can operate the MEC
system via a simple interface in order to ensure
and manage data privacy.
HPPN allows enterprises to leverage all the LTE
‘flavors’ and their properties, including
broadband connectivity, indoor coverage,
outdoor coverage, as well as support for low
bandwidth connectivity for IoT battery operated
devices.
Employees and visitors’ connectivity: Saguna’s
HPPN solution provides connectivity and
networked services for both employees and
visitors through the standard network provider,
which provisions and supports the enterprise
network.
Saguna HPPN Solution | © Saguna Networks | www.saguna.net
About Saguna
Saguna, the Multi access Edge Cloud Computing pioneer, helps
communication companies monetize, optimize & accelerate their
networks. Our any-access Edge-Cloud solutions transform
communication networks into powerful cloud computing
infrastructures for game changing applications including
augmented and virtual reality, IoT, edge analytics, high definition
video, connected cars, autonomous drones and more.
Saguna’s award-winning MEC solution simplifies & accelerates
development, deployment, management and automation of edge
cloud platforms and edge applications. Fully compliant with the ETSI
MEC standard and 3GPP 5G specifications, our MEC solution
provides Ultra Reliable and Low Latency Communication (URLLC)
enabling 5G features over existing 4G networks and setting the
stage for 5G roll-out.
For more information: https://www.saguna.net/
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