5G PRIVATE NETWORKS: IMPACTS ON COMMUNICATIONS, EDGE COMPUTING, AND THE SHOP FLOOR

Presented by the COLUMBIA INSTITUTE ON TELE-INFORMATION (CITI), November 19, 2020, 10:30 AM EST.

This conference will introduce 5G private networks to a broad technology and telecommunications-oriented audience and provide specific cases of how these networks operate.

  • Welcome Prof. Eli Noam, Director, CITI “Why the Interest in 5G Private Networks”
  • Robert Cohen, PhD, Organizer and Senior Fellow, Economic Strategy Institute, “The Panels and the Importance of 5G Private Networks”

Panel 1: 5G Private Networks and Smart Factories: Changing the Network and the Factory; Building Completely Integrated Smart Factories, Smart Warehouses, Connected Delivery, and Smart Supply Chains

This panel explores the infrastructure changes that 5G will bring about when a firm needs to access computing and storage devices  at the edge of their cloud networks or on-premises. It will discuss the role of infrastructure firms in providing key changes in 5G infrastructure. It will consider how 5G private network infrastructure will change when 5G standards support additional industry-focused Internets of Things. The panel will consider how 5G private network infrastructure helps to bridge Operational Technology (OT) and Information Technology (IT). 

It will also examine some of the possible negative consequences related to the growth of 5G private networks. These include: 1. cost; 2. Spectrum licensing and other bandwidth issues, including the use of the CBRC spectrum; and 3. the competition between cloud service providers, independents,  and mobile operators. 

Speakers:

  • Farid Bichareh, Co-Head of Smart Factories, Industrial Internet Consortium
  • Karin Loidl, Technology Advisor at Fraunhofer IIS, “How Fraunhofer is helping develop 5G private networks for industry”.
  • Erik Josefsson, Global head of advanced industries, Ericsson

            Moderator: Alex Wolfson, BMW 

Panel 2: Case Studies on How 5G Changes the Shop Floor, Computing, and Communications

This panel focuses on specific examples of 5G Private Networks and explores the changes in plant operations once new infrastructure is in place. It will examine the benefits of bringing Real-Time Analytics to production and advances in optimizing equipment efficiency, and new business models. 

It will also explore challenges, such as the need for new digital skills in the workforce, the challenge for enterprises that need to shift from traditional production lines to flexible operations more focused on customization. There is also the issue of how effectively providers can offer new value-added services, such as sophisticated data analysis, to their customers.

Speakers:

  • Erik Simonsson, head of Ericsson’s smart 5G factory in the US, Plano, Texas
  • Niels König, Head of Department, Production Metrology, Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology IPT, on use cases related to the 5G-Industry Campus Europe that is located on the campus of RWTH University, Aachen, Germany.
  • Chuck Byers, Associate Chief Technology Officer of the Industrial Internet Consortium, and an independent consultant. He works on the architecture and implementation of Edge Computing platforms. “How AI operates in support of 5G Networks to optimize RAN and security and how 5G networks are an enabling technology for AI”.Moderator: Robert Cohen, Senior Fellow, Economic Strategy Institute