Five Chinese government ministries and agencies have jointly issued a notice to launch a pilot program for industrial 5G standalone private networks.
The pilot program will support large and extra-large enterprises in sectors such as raw materials, equipment manufacturing, consumer goods, electronics and information technology, defense technology, and energy and transportation in building these private networks. It encourages cities that are already piloting the integration of "5G + Industrial Internet" to take the lead in this construction effort.
The initiative aims to explore new models for the construction, utilization, maintenance, and management of standalone private networks. This is intended to meet specific enterprise needs, foster and expand the industrial chain ecosystem for these networks, and help "5G + Industrial Internet" empower a wide range of industries.
The pilot's scope includes five key areas: deploying infrastructure, innovating application scenarios, building management platforms, exploring construction models, and ensuring security.
The overall requirements define an industrial 5G standalone private network as a dedicated enterprise 5G network where the industrial enterprise leads the construction of key facilities like the access and core networks, allowing it to operate independently of public networks.
The program will follow principles of coordinated regulation, selecting strong candidates, ensuring security and reliability, promoting intensive and efficient operations, and proceeding step by step.
Deploying Infrastructure
This involves setting up 5G base stations, core networks, edge computing systems, and other foundational elements within the pilot area. These will be integrated as needed with new industrial networking technologies like industrial optical networks, industrial Ethernet, Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN), and Single Pair Ethernet (SPE). The goal is to support network interconnection, data exchange, and information interoperability within the pilot zone.
Innovating Application Scenarios
The focus here is on leveraging the exclusive resources, manageability, and flexible scheduling of private networks. It aims to tap into the application potential of 5G and 5G-Advanced features like high-speed transmission, ultra-low latency, integrated sensing and communication, passive IoT, high-precision positioning, and network intelligence to accelerate 5G's integration into all production and management processes.
Building Management Platforms
This area calls for the development of operation and maintenance platforms for the private networks, providing functions for device management, configuration, performance monitoring, fault diagnosis, and security management. The objective is to explore comprehensive, intelligent network management solutions.
Exploring Construction Models
The pilot encourages collaboration between industrial enterprises, telecom operators, equipment suppliers, and solution providers. It seeks to explore cooperative models for investment, construction, application services, and management of the private networks.
Ensuring Security
This involves implementing network and data security responsibilities, strengthening security infrastructure, and establishing comprehensive safety mechanisms. It promotes the application of innovative security technologies like zero-trust architecture and commercial cryptography to enhance end-to-end protection.
The application and approval process is open to qualified industrial enterprises, industry-specific companies, or consortia within China. Applicants must have strong financial standing, industry leadership, and clear plans for "5G+Industrial Internet" application.
The application procedure involves online submission through a designated management platform, followed by local review and recommendation, with final approval granted by the central ministries after expert evaluation.
For pilot management, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology will oversee the projects. Local communications administrations are responsible for supervision within their jurisdictions. Pilot entities must obtain necessary radio frequency licenses and adhere to all security and regulatory requirements. The standard pilot period is two years.
Organizational support will involve utilizing existing funding channels and encouraging local governments to establish special funds or industrial investment funds. The program also aims to support the R&D and deployment of customized chips, modules, terminals, and network equipment, fostering a robust innovation ecosystem for standalone private networks.
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