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Why AWS Private 5G Will Stir Up the Enterprise Market

AWS (Amazon, Nasdaq: AMZN) shifted private 5G wireless networking into high gear at its re:Invent conference this week with the preview of AWS Private 5G, a managed service that models an ideal way for enterprises to adopt the technology while raising questions about its marketing.

AWS Private 5G is activated from the AWS console. Customers use menus to tell AWS where they want to install the network and how much capacity is required. Then AWS ships the small cell radios, servers, 5G core and radio access network (RAN) software and subscriber identity modules (SIM cards) for the new network. Spectrum is unlicensed, which based on AWS’ past projects likely means Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS).

“You just pop the SIM card into your device, and voila! Everything’s connected,” said AWS CEO Adam Selipsky during his keynote address on Tuesday. It’s “a one-stop-shop, managed private cellular network that lets you start small and scale up as you need.”

And therein lies the genius of this offering. The pricing is based solely on capacity and throughput; there is no per-device pricing or mandatory level of coverage as there can be when enterprises undertake their own multivendor private 5G projects. In many of those instances, spectrum, equipment, and services come from separate providers, increasing costs and complicating support. With AWS, all variables are managed. Of course, AWS Private 5G assumes an enterprise already has the AWS cloud environment installed, complete with integral AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) services and other supporting elements.