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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