Building and securing 5G networks of tomorrow
Every new generation of carrier technologies has brought forward new business and consumer use cases. The release of 3G rolled in wireless mobile data communication, while the release of 4G brought in IP wireless data communication. Both combined have made e-commerce, video, gaming, social media, an every-day routine on smartphones and mobile phones.
In essence 3G and 4G networks enabled mobile broadband for business and consumers. As part of this growth: the world is now mobile; there is huge growth in network access; digitisation has become a reality leading to emergence of Internet of Things (IoT); and cloud is now mainstream.
5G is an enabler for new set of possibilities and capabilities. The growing 5G momentum promises new revenue opportunities for service providers. To pursue these new untapped opportunities, they will need to ramp up their network capabilities to support future 5G services.
As we move closer towards mainstream 5G adoption, mobile networks are increasingly expected to handle more data-intensive applications and deliver low-latency connectivity to more devices.
The roll out of 5G networks provides an opportunity for service providers to gain benefits from next generation cycles in the data centre, networks, mobility, in a multi-vendor environment. Significant changes such as personalised networks are now possible through slicing and other granular functions.
Simultaneously, 5G is about service providers being able to exploit new enterprise use cases and new revenue streams. In parallel, new transient network surfaces raise additional challenges of security and country regulations.
Some of the new use cases that 5G will cater to include: autonomous transport, augmented and virtual reality, smart city traffic management, rapid response services, robotics in manufacturing, healthcare and fitness, smart grids and utilities, smart offices, smart homes, industrial automation, machine to machine communications, 3D video and high definition screens, working and play in cloud, amongst others.
Other use case categories include: 5G Enhanced Mobile broadband offers high speed and dense broadband connectivity to users. With performance of Gigabit speeds, 5G is an alternative to fixed line connectivity services. To support enhanced mobile broadband use cases, the mobile core must support high density performance, scalability and security.
Ultra-reliable low latency communications focuses on mission critical services such as virtual reality, telesurgery, healthcare, intelligent transportation, industry automation, manufacturing robotics, and factory automation. Previously delivered through a wired connection, 5G is now an alternative for these use cases.
For millions of sensors and thousands of cars, all on the edge of the network, Massive IoT can support the number of scalable connections required. Service providers can use network slicing technology, to deliver network as a service for businesses.
5G will bridge wireless and wireline networks, forcing a major network architectural change from radio access to core. This requires transition to cloud native applications, monitoring and managing an end-to-end network, including radio access networks and packet core. It also combines and leverages the capability of a variable bandwidth network with mixed and flexible access. On the flip side, this enhanced flexibility increases the surface vulnerable to threats.
Securing 5G networks requires complete visibility of the stack managing a use case and controls to take remedial action. Contrary to traditional carrier networks, 5G networks require visibility from the edge to the cloud platform, to the application, across the extended network, to the end point.
Securing the 5G network then requires comparison to the normal baseline behaviour and alerts for any deviation. The key functional aspect being to be able to measure the network, so that it can be managed.
Continuous aggregation of near real-time network data allows analyses of the workflow through a security controller. Based on predefined security policy, remedial action and controls can be triggered. Inbuilt machine learning capability, monitors the remedial actions and its ability to counter threats, as an iterative loop for further improvement and action at a later stage.
By investing time and money in securing their 5G networks, service providers can be better assured of a predictable return on investment.