Customized 5G and Beyond Private Networks with Integrated URLLC, eMBB, mMTC, and Positioning for Industrial Verticals

The fifth generation (5G) and beyond networks promote new business opportunities not only for mobile network operators but also for industrial verticals. However, most currently deployed 5G networks are public mobile networks developed for generalized purposes, limiting their adoption for various industrial fields demanding specialized quality of service. The new trend in applying 5G and beyond networks to industrial fields requires a new design paradigm shift calling for customized network structure, network resources, and network management. In customized 5G and beyond private networks (C5GBPN), network structure can be designed to be standalone or integrated; network resources can be designated to be exclusive or shared; and network management, including access control, data control, and governance, needs to be revisited. The flexibility of C5GBPN is of paramount importance for various application scenarios of industrial verticals, such as ultra-reliable low-latency communications, enhanced mobile broadband, massive machine-type communications, and positioning. In this regard, we first present the background and motivation of developing C5GBPN in this article. Then we provide three types of C5GBPN and discuss their pros and cons. Also, we provide feasible solutions to deal with these foreseeable design challenges of C5GBPN.