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AWS Lets Orgs Launch Mobile Networks with Private 5G Service
Amazon Web Services (AWS) has made its new Private 5G service generally available, enabling customers to quickly spin up and manage private networks for their connected devices.
Launching a private mobile network with AWS Private 5G only takes "a matter of days," said AWS evangelist Jeff Barr in a blog post last week announcing the service's release.
"You can use the network to communicate with the sensors & actuators in your smart factory, or to provide better connectivity for handheld devices, scanners, and tablets for process automation," he said.
As its name suggests, the new service is 5G-ready, and currently supports 4G LTE.
AWS is also in the process of rallying partners with mobile networking expertise to help customers use the service. Devices deployed on AWS Private 5G run on the CBRS frequency band. This specification -- in addition to the inherent complexity of setting up a private wireless network -- is a potential hurdle for organizations that want to use AWS Private 5G, Barr acknowledged, which is where partners come in handy.
"Planning and deploying a private wireless network can be complex and not every enterprise will have the tools to do this work on their own. In addition, CBRS spectrum in the United States requires Certified Professional Installation (CPI) of radios," he said. "To address these needs, we are building an ecosystem of partners that can provide customers with radio planning, installation, CPI certification, and implementation of customer use cases. You can access these partners from the AWS Private 5G Console and work with them through the AWS Marketplace."
Currently, AWS Private 5G is available only for U.S. customers using the US East (Ohio), US East (N. Virginia), and US West (Oregon) regions, though Barr said. availability for non-U.S. markets is coming. Pricing is currently set at $10 per hour, for a term of at least 60 days.