#1 Completeness of private 5G offering
In many cases, deploying a private cellular network means working with as many as 7 different vendors to acquire all the components, as well as engaging a systems integrator or service provider to implement and manage the solution. Not only does this result in long and complicated sales and deployment cycles, but it can also make getting technical support a nightmare for IT admins.
HPE Aruba Networking Private 5G includes everything an enterprise needs to deploy a private cellular network โ 4G/5G mobile core, hardware appliance, 4G/5G small cell radios (indoor and outdoor), and management dashboard. For U.S.-based customers, it also includes an integrated Spectrum Access System (SAS) to protect incumbents on the CBRS spectrum band. The entire solution is available as an integrated, turnkey deployment sold and supported by one vendor โ HPE โ greatly simplifying the entire process and accelerating time to value*.
#2: Enterprise simplicity
Complexity is perhaps the biggest reason enterprises are hesitant to deploy private cellular, as many IT organizations lack traditional cellular expertise. Some vendors are attempting to address this by retrofitting solutions designed for telcos and selling them to enterprises. But these solutions are still too complex for many enterprises to deploy and manage.
By contrast, HPE Aruba Networking Private 5G has been purpose-built for enterprises, with simplicity and ease-of-use as its core tenets. It features an intuitive management dashboard that enables IT admins to deploy and manage private cellular in a very similar way to Wi-Fi, leveraging advanced configuration automation features that cut provisioning times down to a matter of minutes. The dashboard also provides comprehensive visibility into subscribers, apps, performance and service levels, so itโs easy to see whatโs happening on the network at any given time. And with integrated radio management as part of the dashboard thereโs no need for IT admins to juggle multiple consoles.
#3: Mature & proven private 5G technology
Private cellular technology is certainly not new. However, enterprises should be wary of immature or unproven solutions that may lack the reliability and scalability needed to support mission and business-critical use cases.
Our mobile core has been deployed by over 500 enterprises and 25 service providers over 15 years (since the days of 3G), supporting some of the largest and most demanding private cellular networks in the world, including military/defense, healthcare, and mining, with some deployments supporting 500,000 end user devices or more.
#4: Private 5G deployment flexibility
When it comes to private cellular, one size does not fit all. Enterprises that have specialized use cases or may be located in a geography where shared spectrum isnโt available need a solution thatโs flexible enough to meet their unique requirements.
Thatโs why HPE Aruba Networking Private 5G provides multiple deployment options, enabling customers to implement private cellular where and how they need to. In addition to the integrated turnkey option described in #1, customers can choose to deploy our mobile core in virtualized environments (NFV), data centers, private clouds or on standard off-the-shelf servers and choice of 3GPP-standard small cell radio. And since our core supports both 4G and 5G, customers can deploy 4G now and easily migrate to 5G when theyโre ready.
#5: Complementary approach to Wi-Fi and private 5G
At HPE, we believe Wi-Fi and private cellular are complementary, and that using both technologies will deliver the most value to our customers by enabling them to meet all their wireless connectivity requirements and deliver better business outcomes.
We also believe that enterprises are looking to unify their approach to managing Wi-Fi and private cellular networks and want a single pane of glass for management and orchestration, as well as shared identity and policy services.
Not only is HPE unique in our ability to provide both Wi-Fi and private cellular hardware and software, weโre also the only vendor with a vision to integrate the management of these technologies on a single platform โ HPE Aruba Networking Central โ providing customers seamless access to edge resources regardless of connection type.
Enterprises need to consider a number of different factors when evaluating private cellular solutions, as how a solution is purchased, deployed, managed, and supported can all have a profound impact on the success or failure of an implementation. HPE Aruba Networking makes it easy to deploy and manage private cellular with a comprehensive, simple, and flexible solution designed for enterprises that has a proven track record of success unified vision for Wi-Fi and private cellular management.
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*Currently available in the U.S. market only. Availability for Canada and Europe is planned for late CY2025/early CY2026.
