HPE Aruba aims to simplify private 5G for enterprises

HPE Aruba is offering a new private 5G service it says will be as easy to deploy and manage as many Wi-Fi services.

The HPE Aruba Networking Enterprise Private 5G package (P5G) comes with an integrated 4G/5G core, HPE ProLiant Gen11 servers, SIM/eSIM cards, 4G/5G small cells, and a dashboard that enables the whole system to be managed via the cloud. The package is based on the 5G technology HPE acquired from Athonet in 2023, including CBRS and 5G starter kits with a mobile packet core, SIM cards, a choice of radio and other components needed to set up private cellular networks quickly.

“Until now, enterprise private cellular has been an arduous, bespoke undertaking that can involve up to seven different vendors to assemble a solution. Our goal now with Enterprise Private 5G is a single-vendor offering that includes cloud-based core and radio management, core software and HPE servers, indoor and outdoor small cell radio options, SIMs or eSIMs that delivers everything needed in a single package along with the simplicity and ease of management customers have with enterprise Wi-Fi,” said Gayle Levin, head of wireless product marketing with HPE Aruba Networking.

“Our enterprise P5G offering includes wizards, automation, and zero-touch provisioning to make it easier for IT teams to manage Day 0 to Day N operations,” Levin said. Deployment times drop from hours to minutes, and the need to understand the complexities of technologies such as 3GPP cellular is eliminated, Levin said.

The package can be managed through a central cloud-based dashboard. However, likely by next year, 5G services will be tied into Aruba Central, the vendor’s flagship cloud-based management platform, so customers can administer Wi-Fi and private 5G networks through a single pane of glass, Levin said. The package will also be available via Greenlake, HPE’s cloud and as-a-service platform.

The promise of a private 5G package that’s easier to deploy and manage should be of interest to enterprise looking to utilize the technology in a variety of use cases, from manufacturing to branch office connectivity, experts say. 

According to IDC: “Many enterprises considering private cellular networks are holding back investment until solutions can deeply integrate well with existing IT and network infrastructure. For example, to address demand, there is a push within some vendors to integrate at the network management layer to deliver a unified, single-pane approach from which to define policy, security, and traffic using the same platforms currently in place for other networks. The idea is to integrate where it is feasible, so as to avoid simply overlaying another network, thus driving complexity and costs up,” the research firm wrote in its Worldwide Private LTE/5G Wireless Infrastructure Forecast, 2023–2027.

“The predominant channel for private cellular networks today remains systems integrators (SIs), with a mix of carrier, cloud provider, and distributors following suit. However, for the market to scale faster globally, and for vendors to capture more profits, we foresee the need for a traditional enterprise channel to develop whereby a larger portion of equipment is pushed to market via distributors and value-added resellers (VARs),” IDC stated.