Non-Public-Networks - State of the art and way forward

Non-public networks (NPNs) push the integration capability of 5G a step further by not only offering the integration of service capabilities specific and tuned towards verticals but building an entire concept of infrastructure provisioning around verticals. This is achieved by extending the architectural alignment of service-based architecture and enterprise service architecture to the capability of provisioning 5G hardware infrastructure, down to base stations in vertical industry sites. The use of private site-specific spectrum, utilized for 5G infrastructure, can be complemented by the possibility to utilize roaming into operators’ wide-area connectivity, if needed for the specific use case. The use of local spectrum disconnects NPNs entirely from previous operator-dependent deployment models. Ultimately, the vertical customer’s extended enterprise service architecture is now realized as a distributed data centre that spans its various sites albeit with the ultra-low latency and service-centric capabilities that are enabled by 5G. This white paper presents the state of the art of NPNs in the 5G and beyond 5G context and provides an outlook on possible evolution paths of this concept.