Enabling highly customised cloud-native private 5G networks
The fifth-generation of wireless networks, 5G, is disrupting industry and unlocking the door to numerous benefits thanks to faster connectivity speeds and ultra-low latency, among other key features. 5G for private networks, in particular, is captivating industry and is a market that is expected to increase in the years to come. In this context, the EU-funded FUDGE-5G project set out to devise, assess and demonstrate a conceptually novel and forward-looking cloud-native, unified and secured service-based 5G architecture, solutions and systems for private networks. “More specifically, our main goal was to deliver private 5G networks solutions able to fill the requirements in realistic environments, and to enhance the existing service-based architecture 5G paradigm into fully disintegrated and customisable 5G networks, abstracted from the underlying infrastructure or hardware,” explains David Gomez-Barquero, project coordinator. FUDGE-5G is the first 5G Infrastructure Public Private Partnership that focuses solely on non-private networks with an innovation space in the core network domain.
Five vertical use cases
The project innovations were successfully evaluated thanks to the creation of an ecosystem where the stakeholders, infrastructure providers and component owners actively interacted with each other, easing the integration and testing efforts. “To achieve this, FUDGE-5G devised five use cases where private 5G networks can improve existing workflows and enable new functionalities,” confirms Gomez-Barquero. Each use case, which includes the media showroom, public protection and disaster relief, a 5G virtual office in a hospital, the interconnected non-private networks and Industry 4.0 is associated with a vertical stakeholder who is involved in the use case definition and the field trials. “The technology readiness level (TRL) in these use cases reached TRL 9 for two of them, media and public protection and disaster, while the 5G virtual office and Industry 4.0 accomplished a TRL of 7,” reports Gomez-Barquero. The last use case, interconnected non-private networks, successfully featured experimental functionalities not yet included in 5G standards, achieving a TRL of 4. “Overall, the FUDGE-5G component portfolio is composed of 18 artifacts, with the most notable ones including a portable private 5G network, named the Network-on-Wheels, which allows for a fully 5G-compliant network to be moved and deployed where needed, and the Beyond SBA Platform, featuring Service Routing and Energy Management that allows for orchestration and customisation of 5G networks based on the customer’s needs,” confirms Gomez-Barquero. All in all, the project achieved 11 patent applications, 34 standardisation contributions, 18 scientific publications and six Horizon 2020 cross-project collaborations.
Paving the way for a stronger landscape of European SMEs
Each of the project’s partners improved their components, adding new functionalities or providing a framework for them to test their products in realistic environments. “This has translated into a stronger landscape of European SMEs able to provide cutting-edge 5G components,” adds Gomez-Barquero. Therefore, FUDGE-5G empowered several European SMEs in the creation, improvement and validation of their components in the field of private 5G networks. Two of the partners were acquired by larger companies during the project, highlighting the consortium’s excellence. “One of the partners was also able to on-board their 5G solution into the International Space Station. The partners forming the project now find themselves in an advantageous position to provide their solutions for interested customers in deploying or managing their private 5G networks, or to continue researching by applying in upcoming Horizon Europe open calls," concludes Gomez-Barquero.
Keywords
FUDGE-5G, cloud-native, non-private networks, 5G private networks, service-based 5G architecture, vertical stakeholders
