Bringing carrier-grade network to enterprises with private 5G

In an insightful interview, we spoke with Gaurav Gandhi, Founder and CEO, Echelon Edge, who shed light on the burgeoning landscape of private 5G networks in India. He detailed the company's foundational vision, its strategic pivot to private 5G, and the transformative potential this technology holds for Indian enterprises.

Gaurav also delved into the critical considerations for deployment, real-world applications across diverse sectors, and Echelon Edge's innovative contributions, including their "network in a box" solution for defence and disaster management.

Strategic considerations for private 5G deployment

One major difference in private 5G networks is primarily the regulation. That represents a barrier to entry or a hurdle. It is unlike Wi-Fi, which uses an unlicensed spectrum that can be deployed without regulatory approvals. For 5G, an organization like ours, or a consultant, is necessary to understand the regulatory landscape thoroughly, guide you, and obtain approvals before deployment.

Essentially, the initial step is to ensure that you have the licensed use approval. You can obtain a 5G license either through operators or directly with the Department of Telecom. We can guide them based on their budget requirements on how to obtain the necessary spectrum approvals. That is the first point.

Subsequently, the partner they select should be highly capable in understanding and designing the network. Network design is a very important part. Every 5G radio technology has different throughputs and different coverage areas. We need to study the terrain and the types of use cases and devices they possess. We design a complete solution based on that. This requires very core expertise, which we possess. The remaining aspects are not overly complex. Once a company has delivered these solutions in multiple locations, it becomes a matter of replicating the same process. Initially, as a solution, you need to test all the core technology and radio together. Planning and having those use cases must be done once. After that, it becomes progressively easier. The only challenge arises during the initial setup.

Real-world impact: Private 5G in action

Private 5G, for example, has facilitated remote surgery. A surgeon can be located remotely. This was certainly not performed on humans initially. They first tested it on fruits or other objects, and it was successful. This demonstrates the latency capabilities of 5G, where it can provide input for very critical functions.

We are also implementing many use cases, such as remote surveillance or remote inspection. For instance, in a disaster area, a drone equipped with video cameras can perform real-time video analytics and transmit the actual situation of the area during a disaster or any other critical event. This is a major use case favored by customers, such as those in mining. Mines extensively utilize private networks because many incidents and disasters occur there. They monitor and manage these in real-time. This is one example.

Additionally, private 5G is used in the automobile sector, notably in Germany, where major companies like Daimler and Volkswagen are on private networks to enhance their manufacturing processes. Autonomous cars represent the future, and private 5G forms a foundational element for autonomous vehicles. That is another significant use case in the automobile sector.

Every industry currently has certain use cases that require very low latency and very high throughput. We are primarily focusing on mines, and we have four such mine use cases.

Evolving capabilities and bridging the automation gap

We suggest a hybrid approach for industries because it is very difficult to abandon legacy systems, as these industries are highly capital-intensive. First, we ensure and enable all devices to be 5G ready. This involves identifying the primary systems you wish to enable with 5G devices. We make them 5G ready with some additional connectivities and then build a 5G network.

We adopt a hybrid approach where there is 5G, there is Wi-Fi, and devices that genuinely require 5G can be supported by it. We make them 5G ready. Moving forward, the real use cases have not yet materialized. Generative AI, AR, VR, and digital twin technologies, those real-time use cases, are still anticipated as 5G evolves. Even now, there are very few 5G deployments. Even telecom service providers have not undertaken complete full 5G deployments, which involve a Standalone (SA) core. They are all on Non-Standalone (NSA) architectures.

Industry still needs to witness the empowerment that 5G will provide because, as you observe, autonomous vehicles are not yet common in cities. At least for public transport, autonomous vehicles should emerge. This will happen when we can enable entire cities with complete 5G networks. In healthcare, remote surgeries are not yet commonplace. In multiple industries, we are not yet able to create digital twins where we sit in a command and control center and manage our entire industry by viewing its digital twin. All of this is still pending because we are at a very initial, very new stage of deploying 5G to enterprises globally. Very few deployments have occurred, but it is gaining traction, and we anticipate seeing more use cases in this area.

ROI in private 5G

There is always a component dedicated to R&D, and there is always an investment made towards the future to enhance the efficiency of your systems. With that mindset, 5G will undoubtedly be more expensive than your legacy systems initially. You will invest more in 5G compared to a LAN or Wi-Fi ecosystem. However, in some cases, it still makes sense. Initially, my target industries are large enterprises only, such as oil and gas and coal. I am not targeting mid-sized or small-sized enterprises at present. I do not foresee a return on their investments for them at this stage because all these technologies, with more manufacturers, will become progressively cheaper and more affordable. With more deployments, the cost of deploying 5G will only decrease. That is why for large industries, their problems are substantial, and they possess the financial capacity. We are focusing on them, and these are often mission-critical applications.

Initially, you do not deploy 5G for all your applications. Approximately 70-80% of applications can be managed with your legacy network. You only deploy 5G for mission-critical applications, such as areas with very large campuses. For example, an airport is a very large campus, a mine is a large campus, or oil and gas facilities are large campuses. There, you need to cover a very large area where you would otherwise require a multitude of Wi-Fi access points. 5G can provide 20 times more coverage than Wi-Fi, or even more than that. In those use cases, 5G still presents a very favorable comparison to LAN or Wi-Fi.

For use cases that require very low throughput, such as 5 Mbps, 10 Mbps, or 20 Mbps, and do not need significant mobility, you can continue to use Wi-Fi. Gradually, you can introduce 5G into your ecosystem, begin testing your applications, and make a gradual investment. Eventually, it will be fully enabled, and you will be prepared. The cost of 5G will also be considerably lower.

Industry focus and impactful 5G developments

As Echelon Edge, we focus on defense. We are working with the Army for multiple use cases. We are working with the Police. We have already achieved significant success with the Army and Police defense sectors. Then, in terms of industry, oil and gas and mines are very focused industries for us. And then the Air Force. We have a wide variety of customer bases.

I will provide some examples. For defense, we are providing a "network in a box" for the Army. This is essentially for times of war or border situations, where they need to establish a network. For example, if 100 defense personnel are moving in a convoy, they require a means of communication among themselves. We provide them with a 4G or 5G based network in a box, which enables them to communicate within the convoy, even if the convoy spans 4-5 kilometers. Last year, we tested 21 kilometers of coverage from our 4G network in a box with one of the defense signals.

For the Police, they require a network in a box solution for disaster management. In cases of disaster, such as the landslides currently occurring in Himachal due to the monsoon, connectivity breaks because fiber cuts. At that time, connectivity needs to be provided. They use our network in a box solution with satellite backhaul. We take the backhaul from the satellite and create coverage to provide connectivity to disaster areas that are already cut off from the mainland. This is one of the use cases we implement.

In coal mines, we are implementing voice, specifically push-to-talk, push-to-talk solutions. We are also deploying drone-based surveillance solutions there. Furthermore, we are onboarding all sensors and IoT devices onto our network. These are some of the use cases we are implementing in coal mines. Similar solutions are also being deployed at airports.

Network in a Box Technology

This is on N28 spectrum, 700 megahertz technology, specifically chosen to provide a larger coverage area. Here, we are using a ruggedized box, weighing around 17-18 kg, which a soldier can carry on his shoulders. It contains everything: our application, hardware, radio, server, all within a single box. Even the batteries and battery pack are included. So, a soldier in hilly terrain can simply carry it on his shoulders, place it anywhere, and it is IP68 rated, meaning it will function in any condition of rain, weather, or cold. It can provide 3-5 km of coverage, depending on the antennas, to the nearby area. Soldiers can connect with all other soldiers using voice handsets and even make video calls.

Our core application is developed by us. The entire core has been developed in-house. The external box, the hardware, is also developed by us. While we source the radio from OEMs.

Operational stability for the BSNL CDR project 

This is a very important project because the billing for broadband services, fixed-line services, and e-circuit services, everything will all be managed on this platform. We have employed approximately 50 people on a 24x7 schedule because these are very critical services that must not experience any downtime. We have planned our resources accordingly, they specialize in OSS and BSS operations. More than 50 people will be on-site, and approximately 20 people will provide back-office support to them. We have been managing this type of infrastructure for the past 13 years, so this is our core specialty. In addition, we also manage their wireless infrastructure for BSNL. This primarily requires continuous on-site support because if billing is down for even five minutes, it results in a significant loss for our customer.