Private networks continue to grow in popularity due to their ability to provide specific functionality to users and devices, such as low latency, high data rates, and restricted access. In Europe, hundreds of private LTE and 5G networks are deployed and in the planning and development stages, with many found in the manufacturing field.
Europe differs from other regions in the way that spectrum is allocated for private network use. Several countries allocate spectrum directly to a company rather than to the Mobile Network Operators (MNOs). These countries have regulatory agencies which designate a specific band, usually mid-band, to a private enterprise for use in a particular area.
In Germany, the Bundesnetzagentur (Federal Network Agency), or BNetzA, has allocated 123 licenses for private 5G networks (called local networks) in the 3.7-3.8 GHz band. They are expected to be used in manufacturing, agriculture, and forestry. In France, ARCEP, the regulatory authority for electronic and post communications, is handing out licenses in the 2560-2620 band. In the Netherlands, private network spectrum is doled to enterprises in the 3400-3450 MHz and 3750-3800 MHz bands. The Office of Communications, OFCOM, dedicates 3.8-4.2 GHz for local deployments in the UK.
The European Round Table (ERT), a group that works at both national and European levels, is an advocacy group that sees digital advancement as “… key for the transition to a more sustainable society.” They are very excited about using private 5G networks in education and healthcare, stating that “Governments should invest in bringing the best connectivity to every hospital, either via 5G private networks or in-building solutions. This would ensure guaranteed capacity and other essential features to open up the ability to undertake remote surgery, as well as the internal transfer of large, confidential files (e.g., MRI scans), and to equip medical instruments, patient beds, and other essential items with connectivity for optimized overall management of key resources.”
The United Kingdom
Britain is in the midst of building a new Emergency Service Network (ESN), operating on the 2.6 GHz and 3.6 GHz bands on Everything Everywhere’s (EE) LTE network. The ESN will provide secure and fast voice, data, and video and significantly improve rural communications. Users will include police, firefighters, ambulance services, and local authorities. Thousands of new cell sites will be installed, and many thousands of existing ones updated.
The Port of Southampton is deploying a private 5G network in conjunction with Verizon Business and Nokia. A lack of efficient communications hampers the port due to poor Wi-Fi coverage. Verizon and Nokia will install one of the UK’s busiest ports with a private network to not only help the communications problem but use new functionality such as “asset tracking, autonomous guided vehicles, workflow management, predictive maintenance, and safety monitoring.”
Network slicing is a private network where the network is a virtual ‘slice’ from a public operator that provides an enterprise’s specific attributes in demand. 5G-Encode is a government-backed project demonstrating the capacities of network slicing. It was developed on Open RAN standards with Zeetta Networks and Airspan. It intends to “structurally test the new business models that are possible using 5G, and the other is trying out new technologies, and looking at how they can help the facilitation of new business models.”
Germany
The BNetzA has handed out local network licenses to many companies, including BMW, Volkswagen, Robert Bosch, and BASF. Germany’s national railway service, Deutsche Bahn, has a private 5G network project in the works with Nokia.
In Hamburg, Lufthansa Technik uses a private 5G network in the 3.7-3.8 GHz band. Built with Nokia, they are using it to provide HD video streaming of plane engine parts to remote inspectors, reducing travel costs.
Daimler’s Mercedes-Benz Cars division is establishing a local 5G network to support automobile production processes at its “Factory 56” in Sindelfingen with help from Telefonica Germany and Ericsson. The company claims that the new assembly line is 25% more efficient than the assembly line being replaced. With 220,000 square meters, Factory 56 is enormous, with over 400 automated guide vehicles (AGVs) in operation.
In late 2020, the research institute Fraunhofer IIS began building a 5G private network in Erlangen and Nuremberg. The local network will be completely virtualized and O-RAN compliant. The network is being built with help from Airspan, Sitcom, and Microsoft’s Metaswitch and will act as “test beds for Industry 4.0 and automotive applications”.
Volkswagen is using a local network license and working with Nokia to deploy a private 5G wireless network at their plant in Wolfsburg. “Initial use cases that are being tested include wireless upload of data to manufactured vehicles and intelligent networking of robots and wireless assembly tools.” All data generated will remain on the Volkswagen campus, ensuring data security.
According to a recent survey, 40% of German businesses plan to deploy a private 5G network in 6-24 months. Per the same survey, 93% of German executives claim that COVD-19 has “made it easier to secure the budget needed for 5G deployment.”
Finland
In Finland, spectrum was granted by communications agency Traficom for the first time directly to a business rather than an operator – Fortum Power and Heat, which will use the 2.3 GHz band at a power plant in Loviisa.
Edzecom, a Finnish private networking specialist, was bought by Cellnex in 2020. Edzecom has installed more than 25 private LTE networks in the Nordic region, including the Finnish ports of Kokkola, HaminaKotka, and Oulu. The latter runs on 2.6 GHz and will “extend to cover edge computing, automation, and artificial intelligence (AI).” Edzecom works with Nokia in many deals, including a test mine in Tampere to provide high-speed connectivity in a challenging environment.
France
In France, electronics manufacturer Lacroix will partner with Orange to deploy a private 5G network using a local license to demonstrate the “factory of the future.”
Groupe ADP, an international company managing 26 airports, has worked with Hub One and Ericsson to install private networks at three Paris airports. The networks will initially run on 4G but be ready for 5G and will run on privately held spectrum. The network will manage airport operations such as telephone services and luggage tracing.
EDF (construction), Thales (network design and operation), and Ericsson (network equipment provider) are teaming up to bring private 4G to French nuclear sites. To “enhance site performance, maintenance, operations, and logistics.”
A private wireless network is being deployed at the 2,000 square meter Schneider Electric plant in Le Vaudreuil, France. It is being installed by Nokia and Orange and will run on 1.8 GHz for LTE and 3.5 GHz for 5G. There will be two primary use cases: “…augmented reality applied to maintenance technician activities and the implementation of a telepresence robot for remote visits.”
Elsewhere on the continent
In Spain, the chemical company BASF will install a private 5G network covering four production plants over nearly 250 acres. Nokia and Cellnex will partner, allowing for real-time vehicle guidance, improved security with Mission Critical Push To Anything (MCPTX), which helps first responders to share voice, text, images, and video, and AR-assisted maintenance, with questions geo-referenced and stored for later queries at the same location.
In Cayirova, Turkey, the household appliances manufacturer Arcelik has had Nokia install an LTE network optimized for AGV, drones, QoS, and low latency. Short-term plans include using their AGVs to gather environmental data on the production floor using specialized sensors and visual analytics – counting products and performing post-diagnostics with HD video. Long-term plans include the AGVs being used for intra-campus transportation and smart campus applications such as lighting and parking management.
In the Netherlands, Groningen Seaports is working with Cellnex to roll out a private LTE network in the port of Delfzjil and nearby industrial sites, focusing on smart shipping and the Internet of Things (IoT). Sounding boats, which measure the harbors’ depth, are being tested that operate autonomously, with no crew. The network will keep data on-premises, increasing security, and create a more efficient asset management system.
In Russia, at the Nezhdaninskoye gold deposit in the Republic of Sakha, Mobile TeleSystems and Ericsson have built the country’s first 5G-ready private network for Polymetal International. Initially running on LTE, the network will increase data speeds, reduce maintenance costs, enable AI technologies, and manage crucial processes in challenging geographic and weather conditions. Mission Critical Push To Talk (MCPTT) will be implemented in the next phase,
Hungary is installing a private 5G network to create Europe’s first smart railway port. It will be built by Vodafone and Huawei (many European countries have chosen not to allow Huawei to build 5G networks due to security concerns.) The network will be “used to control the terminal’s fully self-propelled giant cranes remotely,” allowing workers to manage the cranes from a distance via HD video, increasing safety and efficiency.
Nokia is working with Orange Poland to install a private 4G/5G network in their 13,00 0 square meter factory in Bydgoszcz. It will improve communications for its 6,000 employees and will facilitate “automated guided vehicles to transport products internally, drones for surveillance and monitoring, and the widespread deployment of IoT devices.”
Conclusion
The market for private LTE and 5G networks in Europe is astronomical. One report sees the European private LTE market capturing 25% of global revenues by 2026, primarily due to national deployments of emergency services networks. Marc Sauter of Vodafone said in early 2021, “A million private networks by the end of the decade? At Vodafone, we believe it is possible. In Europe alone, we have about a million companies that could benefit from private mobile networks – with most in manufacturing, along with logistics and warehousing, utilities, oil and gas, and increasingly in healthcare.” Nokia has calculated there are “…no fewer than 14.58 million potential venues for private LTE, and later private 5G,”, with “10,000 military bases, 8,000 oil and gas plants, 47,600 power stations, 140,000 water utilities, 54,000 mines, 263,000 hospitals and labs,”, and over 10 million manufacturing sites.
One note of caution comes from the GSM Association, which states that “…the European telecoms environment does not sufficiently support private network investment, with the cost of capital often higher than its return.”
