What Spectrum for Enterprise Private Networks Tell Us About Risks and Opportunities

Countries are in process of allocating spectrum for private wireless network, but are they assigning the right spectrum? Most of the allocated spectrum falls in the mid-bands, primarily 3.x GHz, or the millimeter-wave bands (24, 26, 27, 28 and 38 GHz). A close look shows the fragmentation in allocated spectrum which could not be good for economies of scale. While in the past access to spectrum has been a barrier for private wireless networks, the current fragmented environment raises new challenges especially as the prospects for coordination among different countries is practically nil. But in all of this, there’s a silver lining for those who are persistent.

	Planned	Implemented
Mid-band spectrum	12	10
mmWave spectrum	9	7

Wide variance in objectives and frameworks

Unlike spectrum license to mobile network operators to run cellular technologies, spectrum for private wireless networks typically covers a small area. The licensing scheme for local licenses very significantly among countries. Even in the same block such as the EU or between the US and Canada, there is wide variance in both the spectrum allocation and the license framework and requirements.

This variance is a direct result of the objectives of the different regulators. For instance, while most agree that these licenses are to be used by enterprises, some regulators have additional objectives for providing rural coverage. In such cases, local networks could be used to generate revenue as opposed to being solely dedicated for an enterprise’s own use cases. More downstream consequences follow from this, such as the mandate for lawful intercept in case a local network provides voice services.

Equipment availability and customization

Fragmentation of the spectrum landscape, means that infrastructure equipment vendors would be hard-pressed to achieve economies of scale. Equipment for private wireless networks are very different from those deployed by carriers for mobile broadband services. Vendors seeking to play in the private wireless networks, need to customize their equipment for different frequency bands and to cater to different use cases. Customization comes at a cost, especially that related to user devices which become the critical bottleneck in enabling such networks. Both vendors and users will look carefully at the viability of the business case for such networks.

Does Open RAN help?

Yes and no! Enterprises and small or rural operators don’t have the capability to integrate systems of the complexity of Open RAN. They will opt for an integrated and tested solution. However, the modularity of Open RAN is valuable in some deployments. Open RAN allows a system integrator to source radios from certain vendors to support a wide range of frequency bands. The Radio Intelligent Controller is also useful to better integrate applications with the radio access infrastructure [see here]. In this sense, Open RAN will help in this market segment, but only up to a point. For more on this topic, download the Open RAN market insight report [see here].

Who got an advantage?

Given the spectrum structure do mobile network operators have an advantage in providing private wireless networks as a service? This question could only be answered in looking at a specific case – country by country. In some countries operators cannot access the spectrum while in others, such as in China, the band is only available to mobile network operators. Should the ecosystem, and in particular devices, be limited, neither mobile network operators nor enterprises could benefit significantly. On the whole, the fragmented spectrum structure favours very large enterprises including mobile network operators if anyone!

Final Thoughts

The fragmented nature of spectrum for enterprise applications is a challenge, but also opens opportunities. Small vendors will have more room to play in areas where the business case for the large vendors does not pan out. Expertise in developing custom features and integrating custom solutions represent another opportunity.