NEW TELEKOM CAMPUS NETWORK ON AIR IN LEIPZIG
Last week, Deutsche Telekom put a campus network into operation on behalf of the BMW Group Leipzig plant. This is the fourth campus network at a customer's site that Deutsche Telekom has set up in Europe. Technology partner Ericsson is on board as network supplier.
Dual-slice solution for the car manufacturer
The Telekom campus network consists of a private mobile communications network that is exclusively available to the BMW Group's plant. In the future, various applications in production will be controlled and monitored via this network. In addition to the private campus network, the public network will transmit the same signal strength. This ensures a perfect connection even for terminal devices that are not allowed to transmit in the private network. For example, smartphones of customers or suppliers. This solution of private and public networks is called a dual-slice solution. The campus network at the BMW Group plant in Leipzig is initially based on the LTE standard.
Outlook for 5G Campus Networks
Together with Ericsson, Deutsche Telekom is already working on the further development of its campus networks. The development includes a 5G dual-slice solution that can also integrate the industry spectrum. On the other hand, Deutsche Telekom and Ericsson are working on an offer for private 5G networks without connection to the public network. This will allow more innovative applications to be implemented for industry. These private networks will do completely without LTE and will operate purely over 5G. The technology is called 5G Standalone.
The 5G architecture supports for example applications that require an ultra-short response time. In the 5G standard these applications are described as uRLLC applications. The abbreviation stands for "Ultra-Reliable and Low-Latency Communication". It describes extremely time-critical applications with the lowest latency time of e.g. only 1 millisecond. These are services that require the shortest response times and must not fail.
Ericsson and Telekom are currently working together to further develop the functionalities of campus solutions based on 5G standalone. Joint customer tests are already planned for this year.
CAMPUS NETWORKS: TELEKOM LAUNCHES OFFERINGS FOR INDUSTRY
> Telekom launches two new mobile-based products for industry in 2020
> New business model Network-as-a-Service: Customers pay monthly fixed amount for use of mobile network
> New EDGE cloud solutions for real-time data processing
New at DIGITAL X, Europe's largest digitization initiative for industry: Deutsche Telekom announces two new campus network offerings for companies. Following successful tests at Osram, ZF Friedrichshafen, and BorgWarner (Hungary), there will be product variants for large customers and SMEs next year. Customers can choose between the options Campus M and Campus L.
"The new Campus offering responds to the customers’ individual needs. These vary greatly depending on the industry and company size. With our new offerings, we have now created an attractive and affordable solution in the area of digital infrastructure, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises", explains Hagen Rickmann, Managing Director Business Customers at Deutsche Telekom.
Campus network M
The construction and operation of dedicated networks are complex. Telekom is therefore developing the Campus M product especially for German SMEs. The company premises are served from the public network. Perfect coverage of the company premises with the public mobile network is crucial. If necessary, this can be done with the company's own antennas on premises and inside buildings. The data is of course separated from the public network and sent to the processing computer. Similarly to the fixed-line network, the company then uses a virtual private network (VPN). Campus M can be adapted to different customer requirements, with an agreed quality of service. In this way, a smooth production flow is ensured, with private data traffic prioritized in overload situations.
Campus network L
The Campus L variant offers its own private mobile network with assured network resources on the company premises. This solution is aimed primarily at large customers. It includes the installation of a mobile radio antenna, as well as dedicated server on premises. This server provides the backend for the private network infrastructure. In this way, data does not leave the campus.
In both campus network solutions, the mobile radio antennas deliver full coverage of the private network on the company premises. At the same time, they also make the public mobile network available on campus with the same signal strength. This resource is available, for example, to employees or service providers on the company premises who do not have access to the private network. The coverage of the area is adapted to customer needs and planned jointly with the customer. This ensures that support of production processes is optimized.
Data processing in real time from the "EDGE in the Box"
Some mission-critical applications require real-time responses. Telekom will also be offering a product for edge computing: the edge compute platform. This edge platform minimizes latency in the private network. It controls time-critical production and logistics processes even more efficiently. Autonomous transport systems, mobile robots or AI-supported maintenance require real-time analysis. And the processing of large amounts of data in the shortest possible time. Edge Computing does this close to the point of origin - in the customer's private network.
The combination of mobile network and edge computing ensures response times of less than 10 milliseconds in the network, including in the 4G network. "With ‘EDGE in the box’ we offer the perfect complement to the campus networks." Deutsche Telekom Board of Management member and T-Systems CEO Adel Al-Saleh emphasizes this point. "This enables us to achieve ultra-short latency times. This enables completely new applications for industry. Production processes become more efficient and flexible."
Deutsche Telekom is currently testing a prototype together with partners. The test is running in the 5G factory in the Connected Industry Center on the campus of RWTH Aachen University. Commercial deployment of the edge compute platform will start in 2020.
Edge Cloud from the Network
Another service uses the Edge Cloud. Telekom is working with four Edge Cloud data centers for the mobile network. In the future, Deutsche Telekom will also be offering these for both Campus L and Campus M. The new data centers will be available at the end of the year.
For the Campus L product, the Edge Cloud back-up is for the local Edge platform. This ensures the operation of the edge applications even in the event of a local failure.
The data centers also allow Campus M customers to run latency-critical applications. They do not need a dedicated data center on their own premises. Telekom offers them a managed service as a bookable additional option. SMEs thus benefit from additional services without having to invest in their own infrastructure.
Author: Anne Geelen = Spokesperson - Deutsche Telekom
