Amazon has launched AWS Private 5G networks to help willing companies build their own ‘4G networks’. The service has been rolled out in a select few regions with plans for quick expansion in the near future.
The Amazon Web Services (AWS) announced its first preview of its private 5G in 2021. Now, it is officially available to the customers in US East (Ohio), US East (Northern Virginia), and US West (Oregon) regions. The company plans to roll out the service to other areas and globally soon.
But the brand could be misleading here. Although there is 5G mentioned there, the service currently supports 4G LTE only.
“It supports 4G LTE today, and will support 5G in the future, both of which give you a consistent, predictable level of throughput with ultra-low latency,” AWS chief Jeff Barr has written in the post.
The AWS Private 5G uses Citizen Broadband Radio Service, a shared 3.5 GHz spectrum authorized by Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in early 2020.
Also see: 5G Spectrum Bands: What Do High, Mid, and Low Bands Mean?
AWS private 5G helps others build their own 4G networks
The AWS private 5G service helps companies easily set up their own 4G networks. This requires them to get a radio and SIM cards which AWS supplies directly. Then, the company also provides software and APIs allowing businesses to get their own 4G LTE up and running.
The AWS Private 5G service includes the AWS Management Console which lets users specify where they want to build their high-speed LTE network and its capacity. When a customer activates small-cell radio units, the network setup and deployment begin.
Users can also enjoy additional benefits with the AWS Private 5G service. It works with Identity and Access Management (IAM) offering, enabling IT to control who and which devices can connect to the private network. Similarly, the custom network also helps with Amazon’s CloudWatch service allowing customers to check on the network’s health.
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Cost and Features
AWS is charging customers $10 hourly for each radio unit it installs. Each radio supports speeds of 150 Mbps across up to 100 SIMs which means a possible 100 individual devices.
Additionally, AWS also charges for data transfers to the internet as per Amazon’s EC2 (Elastic Compute Cloud) rates.
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Verdict
Private 5G networks are becoming more common due to their high-speed and low latency features, especially for enterprises. Public networks attract a possible million devices which can literally clog the network beyond optimum utility for industries. However, the private network can offer the best that 5G actually promises.
However, as mentioned above the AWS Private 5G only supports 4G LTE for now. Despite supporting 100 Mbps plus speed, it is still not going to offer what the next-gen network has up its sleeves. So, this could keep potential subscribers at bay.
What do you think of the ironically branded AWS Private 5G service? Can it be a compelling choice for customers looking to build their own custom high-speed private networks? Do share in the comments below.