Up until now, we have talked extensively about 4G and 4G+ (4G Advanced) mobile communications, and even more so about the upcoming 5G networks. However, I would like to take this opportunity to address mobile wireless technologies based on a private LTE network.

As its very name indicates, this solution consists of a private LTE network designed for corporate customers that (according to the requirements of mobile service operators) must have a unique infrastructure for each specific client. This type of infrastructure mainly involves interconnecting radio base stations via fiber, providing access to the customer’s network through the Internet or via a direct connection.

What are the advantages of private LTE networks?

The first significant advantage offered by this type of network is that customers can monitor and optimize their demand for network resources. As a result, aspects like uploading/downloading speeds can be customized to ensure corporate applications run efficiently. The second advantage is that, if the private LTE network falls or is no longer available, remote devices (mobiles or routers) can be transparently connected to a public LTE network before applications start to malfunction.

This solution is targeted at companies that provide critical services, since they usually deal with different scenarios (vast urban areas or industrial environments) where installing a Wi-Fi network is not viable or such deployment is insufficient to cover corporate needs (given the congestion a large number of Wi-Fi networks operating in the same frequency causes and the need to have a solution that is self-maintained). Another very important factor worth considering is the ability to manage and prioritize voice traffic using QoS techniques.

Having a network that is based on a public LTE prevents carriers from granting specific resources to a given customer. This includes voice traffic, since VoLTE can prioritize this sort of traffic in a generic fashion but cannot do so for each customer.

By way of example, public services like police forces, firefighters, city buses, ambulances, city halls, etc., as well as those operating in more industrialized settings (such as port logistics, safety in dams and reservoirs, etc.), may be willing to use this technology in order to have a mobile access network that differentiates between voice and data traffic. Up until not long ago, many of these customers used networks based on Tetra (a radio network based on voice trunking). Despite this option being terribly outdated, limited, and costly to maintain, some customers are finding it hard to let go and are still using it now!

Mobile operators set aside a frequency spectrum and a series of given bandwidths when offering private LTE commercial services. For instance, the biggest carrier in Spain uses bands 38 and 7, and a frequency of 2,700 Mhz.

Teldat is leading the way when it comes to integrating radio technologies in its range of advanced mobile routers. Moreover, we are working hard to offer solutions that are compatible and support bandwidths and frequencies typically used in public LTE networks.