The Impacts of Private Wireless

Private wireless networks continue to show strong applicability with their ability to create localized cellular networks that are secure, have limited latency issues, offer greater capacity, and have the ability to connect a large number of mobile devices.  The focus for many of these applications has been around supporting and connecting devices. Many of these devices never leave a specific local network, such as some manufacturing plants that have robots on assembly lines. But what we are finding is that more and more applications for private wireless networks need to be geared to the needs of people and their need to travel with their mobile devices.

Island Accessibility

For private networks which can be described as network islands supporting their own localized cellular networks, having a mobile device associated with a person rather than a piece of immovable equipment changes the dynamic. That person with a mobile device typically is not sedentary and may not remain in a particular area serviced by a private network for long. As a result, the ability to allow connectivity within a private network and maintain that connection once that a mobile device moves beyond the private network “island” and into the public cellular network is important. It is imperative that the benefits of a private network including the security and performance is carried along with that device as it moves with a person between the private cellular and public cellular networks.

Device Continuity

To explain further how mobile devices need the ability to have seamless uninterrupted connections as they move between private and public networks, let’s look a couple of potential use cases.

A college campus makes for a great example for having mobile device continuity. For students needing access to a superior cellular connectivity that has low lag time, expanded capacity, and elevated security to efficiently access college-owned assets, education resources, curriculum, etc., a private network that encompasses the college campus is perfect. But if their research requires college resource access beyond the campus limits, a localized private network may be unreachable. Syniverse’s Global SIM provides a single SIM option for devices to communicate via public mobile network resources while supporting back-end data connections to securely reach college resources. 

But what to do when the device returns to campus?  To maximize superior cellular connectivity offered by the private network, the device must release its public cellular connection.  Automated Network Reselection (ANR) capabilities within our Private Wireless Network solution was designed to give mobile devices this flexibility. To offer more insight, ANR is a technology that enables a mobile device with a single SIM to reconnect to its designated private mobile network upon return from the public macro network. ANR’s functionality solves the challenge of network selection when private and public networks have overlapping coverage. This hand-off between public and private networks is seamless, giving the mobile device a positive experience.

Another use case can be healthcare. As the medical industry transforms and patients tend to spend less time in a healthcare facility such as a hospital, the ability to monitor patients through sensors or other mobile devices becomes increasingly important. These devices registered on the private network within the hospital building need to have the flexibility to move beyond that private network, when the patient leaves, yet still maintain connection continuity along with elevated security. In the linked tech talk video, Kathiravan Kandasamy, Syniverse’sVP of Product Management gives a brief overview of how private network deployments are targeting people that use mobile devices rather than “things” that are equipped with SIMs. As well as the importance of being able to maintain connectivity as those people move between private and public networks.