Enea launches 5G MicroCore to support private enterprise networks for Industry 4.0

As organisations, especially those in industry and manufacturing, seek to improve operations significantly through high capacity, low latency and fast communications, private 5G networks are gaining increased momentum.

Aiming to tap into the trend, Enea has launched 5G MicroCore for enterprises using such infrastructures to support smart manufacturing and Industry 4.0 initiatives.

Said to be developed for a minimal footprint, Enea designed its 5G MicroCore based on the company’s 5G Core solutions that have been deployed by a number of Tier 1 operators.

As with its operator equivalent version, the 5G MicroCore is interoperable, designed to give enterprises the freedom to mix and match the products that fit best within their organisation and business model, and to avoid supplier lock-in.

The 5G MicroCore uses several data management capabilities including unified data manager (UDM), authentication server function (AUSF) and user data repository (UDR). It is claimed to deliver numerous benefits for enterprises to effectively manage their data.

Enea believes that the benefits of using the new system include telco-grade reliability and security for data storage and access from the core to the edge to safeguard the enterprise network. The cloud-ready containerised architecture makes edge integration “seamless”, making it perfect even for very small-scale enterprise settings.

Zero-touch operations using self-management are said to feature enable easy configuration and fast deployment. The solution also works across private and public clouds including Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure and Affirmed UnityCloud.

Already there are multiple trials taking place in Asia for Enea’s 5G MicroCore with Asian enterprises, where a number of businesses have launched private 5G networks in smart factories and require robust data management for automation and robotics to support Industry 4.0 initiatives.

“Thanks to our scalable, cloud-native software architecture, we can offer shrink-wrapped, out-of-the-box 5G solutions, unlike some legacy suppliers that rely on bulky technology,” said Roland Steiner, senior vice-president of telecom business unit at Enea.

“With our 5G MicroCore, enterprises get the best of both worlds – a sophisticated 5G Core with telco-grade robustness delivered at the right scale for easy and fast provisioning.”

Explaining the reason for choosing the region to introduce the solution, Enea cited research from analyst firm ABI Research, which estimated that the Asia-Pacific region will leapfrog the rest of the world in private 5G network deployments.

Accounting for more than 65% of global private network revenues by 2025, enterprise networks in Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea and Singapore will be worth almost US$7bn.

“As technologies such as automation, robotics, augmented reality and virtual reality are rolled out to support Industry 4.0 initiatives, enterprises need robust data management capabilities for inter-factory 5G Private networks,” added Leo Gergs, research analyst for 5G markets at ABI Research. “Enea is well-positioned to address this market based on its software-based 5G core experience within major 5G networks.”