Amazon announces AWS Private 5G so companies can create their mobile networks using 4G.

Amazon's cloud-based cash cow segment, AWS, has introduced an innovative service that will aid companies in setting up their private networks for 5G -in the future, at least.

AWS initially made its AWS Private 5G public during its early preview in the latter part of last year. Still, the service is now accessible to AWS customers beginning in the U.S. East (Ohio), U.S. East (N. Virginia) and U.S. West (Oregon) regions, with plans to launch it internationally "in the near shortly."

However, this is a huge "but" regardless of the name AWS Private 5G currently only supports 4G LTE.

"It is supported today by 4G LTE and will also be able to support 5G shortly, and both provide a consistent, regular level of performance with ultra-low latency," AWS chief evangelist Jeff Barr wrote in an article on his blog.

In AWS Private 5G, customers can order devices (a radio device) along with a collection of specific SIM cards from AWS. AWS will then provide all the software required along with APIs (application programming interfaces) that allow companies to create their private mobile network on-site. This includes AWS Management Console. AWS Management Console with which customers can specify where they'd like to set up their network, as well as the required capacity and capacity, with AWS automatizing the process of setting up the network and deployment after the user has activated the small cell radios.

Notably, the AWS-managed network infrastructure works well with the various AWS services, such as its Identity and Access Management (IAM) service, which allows IT to determine the devices and users who can connect to the network. AWS Private 5G also channels into Amazon's CloudWatch observation ability service, which gives insight into the state of the web and other essential information details.

Cost-wise, AWS charges $10 per hour for each radio device it installs, with each unit offering speeds of 150 Mbps for 100 SIMs (i.e. individual devices). Additionally, AWS will bill for any data transfer to the internet, billed at Amazon's standard EC2 (Elastic Compute Cloud) prices.

Thus, Amazon is promising industries like smart factories and other places (remote as well) with high bandwidth requirements fast localized 5G while placing them into its sticky cloud infrastructure, with the standard fees.

Public vs Private

5G can change how we work and is the foundation for everything, from robots to autonomous vehicles to virtual reality. But the public 5G networks, the ones that most users who use devices with 5G capabilities currently depend on, have only limited coverage, and millions of users could share the bandwidth. Additionally, businesses have no control over the network, even if they are within reach of the networks. This is why private 5G networks can be tempting, especially for companies with mission-critical software that requires high-speed data transfer at low latency throughout the day.

AWS Private 5G utilizes Citizen Broadband Radio Service (CBRS), which is a shared 3.5 GHz spectrum for wireless which is what the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) granted in the early 2020s to use in commercial settings in the past, having previously was reserved exclusively for Department of Defense (DoD). This update opened CBRS to myriad applications that include businesses seeking to create new 5G services or expand existing 4G/LTE services.

At the same time, the FCC has announced crucial Spectrum Access System (SAS) administrators will be able to oversee wireless communications within the CBRS band. This method is designed to shield "high prioritization" users (e.g. those in the DoD) against interference. Any device that connects with the CBRS spectrum requires authorization from the SAS administrator. This is Google, Sony, CommScope, Federated Wireless, Key Bridge Wireless and Amdocs today.

This is an essential aspect of the brand's newly launched AWS Private 5G Service is fully integrated into the SAS administration procedure that has AWS handling everything on behalf of the client and taking responsibility for interference issues, among other troubleshooting information related to the spectrum accessibility.

The new Amazon private 5G service is a misnomer, as it stands now since it's currently only compatible with 4G LTE. However, there is a reason why the OnGo Alliance (then called the CBRS Alliance) completed its 5G specifications for CBRS over two years ago. The last few months have been focused on laying the framework to allow full commercial use of 5Gfor example, just recently, Samsung Electronics America announced an agreement with Kajeet to establish a private 5G network for CBRS.

However, while "AWS Private 5G" refers to the capabilities it's designed to provide shortly, its current branding could cause some apprehension from those interested in local 5G service today.