Private mobile networks were once the expensive province of telecommunications service providers and extremely large and expensive. Digital Antenna Systems (DASDistributed Antenna System - Network of antennas used to extend cellular wireless network coverage in the premises of an organization. DA is a network device that can relay, redirect, route and/or process Diameter messages that are fully compliant with the standard Diameter protocols defined by IETF and 3GPP. A DAS improve reliability of a network but reduce total power consumed by the antennas. More), while comprehensive in their feature set and expansive in footprint, were hardly the kind of equipment deployment an enterprise might be willing to undertake. Not without a healthy investment in services, real estate, sweat and toil. As with many things, the complexities scared off buyers resulting in frustrating user experiences and productivity shortfalls.

With the emergence of spectrum in Citizen’s Band Radio Service (CBRSCitizens Broadband Radio Service Radio frequency band between 3.5 GHz and 3.7 GHz that can be used for 5G, 4G or LTE communication. The FCC has recently opened these band to general use. Learn more about CBRS More) and the availability of enterprise-grade LTELong Term Evolution - 4G mobile telecommunication standard. More equipment, new network options are rapidly becoming available. 5GThe “G” in 5G stands for generation. 5G is the fifth generation of wireless technology. 5G is characterized by bigger channels (which improves throughput), lower latencies allowing for real time applications, and the ability to connect more devices (which is increasingly important as the number of devices has grown exponentially). More has hung over the market, yet has remained elusive and still a promise yet unfulfilled. While simpler equipment for private cellular schemes became more accessible, so too did buyer’s apprehension about seemingly complex carrier technologies in enterprise packaging.

Which is why private networks need a complete makeover. Historical approaches heavy in capital expenditure and professional services have not done the trick, nor have advances in hardware packaging.

The prospect of Mobile Network as a Service (MNaaSMobile Network as a Service - An API based system that allows you to start your own private LTE network without knowledge of 3GPP standards. More) brings new life to the Private Network proposition. Subscription services enable a pay-as-you-consume expense model combined with modest, or negligible, usage schedules. As emerging distributed applications are added to the network, the ever-growing community of native-mobile devices are already prepared for the shift and awaiting integration with the enterprise network.

MNaaS represents a new solution category and gives freedom of choice and control back to the enterprise to deploy their own private mobile network – quickly, affordably, and efficiently. And, with only a few simple APIApplication Programmatic Interface An intermediary between two Applications/Systems or Generic Connectivity Interface to an Application. Software applications communicate with one another via APIs. Learn more about APIs and Private Networks More calls an enterprise can quickly onboard mobile devices and IoTInternet of Things - Physical objects with the ability to connect and exchange data with each other over the Internet. A network of objects that are embedded with sensors, processing ability, software, to connect to and exchange data with other such objects or networks. More sensors inside the enterprise perimeter.

In summary, some benefits of MNaaS include:

• OpEx not CapEx thereby aligning expense with service consumption
• Limit CapEx by minimizing daunting hardware expenditures associated with DAS and other hardware-heavy solutions
• Activate in 60 Minutes from start to finish and enable mobile devices inside the firewall on the enterprise network in record time
• Prepare for Edge and Distributed Compute by laying the groundwork today for the distributed computing environment of tomorrow
• Implement Private Mobile Networks using software as a service and free yourself with a software-based Any-G approach

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To learn more about how you can deploy a private mobile network using the Alef MNaaS solution, schedule a demo with us today.