Private Mobile Connectivity: More Visibility, Security, and Control
Mobile network operators (MNOs) are seeking ways to leverage the capabilities of 5G and deliver on its security and reliability expectations. Two notable innovations have emerged to address these demands: mobile private networks (MPNs) and 5G network slicing.
Private mobile connectivity solutions represent new revenue streams for MNOs, enabling operators to tap into the growing market of enterprises that are seeking dedicated and customized solutions. To develop specialized services for their enterprise customers, MNOs can work closely with businesses to build vertical market expertise and strengthen their position as trusted partners.
MPNs and network slicing both aim to provide users and subscribers with the best-quality service, but this goal can be challenging. This post will introduce a third option, Akamai Private Access Edge, which enables MNOs to deploy and scale private mobile connectivity faster and without the significant costs and IT expertise required to set up MPNs and network slicing.
The use case for MPNs and network slicing
Stand-alone private networks are often deployed for mission-critical use cases — for which the highest availability and reliability and lowest latency is required — in industries such as manufacturing and logistics (Figure 1). But the build-out of a dedicated private network has significant deployment costs: The average cost of a network in 2022 was US$590,000. It also requires significant management overhead, which means the effort to scale up can be difficult and costly.
Fig. 1: Mobile private networks: Network infrastructure is used exclusively by devices authorized by the end user organization
Network slicing supports differentiation of services in a controlled network, but delivering on strict performance requirements needs network slices to be end-to-end, from the core to the access network (Figure 2).
Although network slicing is not new, the deployment of the technology is still in its infancy. The GSMA Intelligence Global Mobile Trends 2023 report highlighted internal operator challenges, including skills gaps, that represent a significant deployment hurdle.
Fig. 2: Network slicing can deliver different network characteristics for each Enterprise sharing the Carrier 5G network
Deliver private connectivity faster with Akamai Private Access Edge
At Akamai, we wanted to offer MNOs an alternative to the significant deployment costs of MPNs and the complexity associated with network slicing. As a result we designed our Akamai Private Access Edge solution to embed directly into the carrier network, enabling MNOs to provide business subscribers with secure, private access from connected devices to applications inside the corporate network (Figure 3).
There’s no need to build and maintain physical or virtual infrastructure or install and manage client software. In addition, the clientless architecture means that any SIM-enabled device can be secured.
Fig. 3: Akamai Private Access Edge solution provides a multitenant private APN interconnect to the MNO
Devices can access the internet securely via Akamai’s edge, and users can adjust data usage, security and routing policies dynamically and immediately. MNOs can provide organizations with the benefits of an enterprise-grade cellular access point name (APN), without the complexity and cost of building and managing one, while giving their CIOs complete visibility across all mobile and Internet of Things (IoT) endpoints.
Operators can also create incremental value through building additional capability into their existing customer relationships, thereby reducing the number of vendors and touchpoints required for each deployment.
Benefits for both the network operator and the enterprise
Operators can expect additional revenue opportunities as more workloads move to enterprise mobile and IoT. Analyst firm ABI research estimates the revenue opportunity for private cellular networks to grow from almost $7 billion in 2023 to more than $96 billion by 2030.
Additional benefits for operators include service differentiation via self-serve, unified management of mobile and IoT branches. Enterprises also gain significant advantages, including increased security of mobile and IoT endpoints and unified self-service control. Remote workers can access applications inside their enterprise private cloud without the need to install a VPN client on the device.
Private Access Edge lowers the barriers to entry
Akamai Private Access Edge lowers the barriers to entry for MNOs looking to deploy highly scalable private mobile connectivity solutions without the expense and operational complexity associated with more bespoke solutions. It opens up additional opportunities to provide private network access to small and medium-sized businesses that cannot absorb the costs associated with building out a stand-alone private network.
Private Access Edge helps maximize investment in network technologies while extending visibility, security, and control to every mobile and IoT endpoint.
Furthermore, our solution creates programmability for cellular networks, enabling operators to empower end users to dynamically define usage policies, scale services, and deliver operational efficiencies to drive innovation and growth.
Learn more
To learn more about how you can increase recurring revenues and differentiate services by offering security, visibility, and control for enterprise mobility, visit Secure Internet Access Services for MNOs.
