Hewlett Packard Enterprise Extends Leadership in Enterprise Connectivity with Private 5G Offering

 Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE: HPE) today announced that it is extending its leadership in enterprise connectivity with unique capabilities for private networking across both 5G and Wi-Fi enabling new enterprise and industrial applications from edge to cloud. Pre-integrated with radio access capabilities from leading vendors, the private 5G solution can be deployed quickly, flexibly and as a service with HPE GreenLake.

Enterprises are increasingly looking at the promise of a customized 5G experience for low-latency, dedicated capacity, extended range and security across campus and industrial environments, whilst complementing existing Wi-Fi networks. Although 5G far surpasses Wi-Fi in terms of wide area coverage, Wi-Fi has the edge when it comes to cost-effective, indoor connectivity. With private 5G technology from HPE, customers can uniquely enjoy the best of both worlds with seamless interworking across both private 5G and Wi-Fi.

“Data growth is creating countless new opportunities across many industries, but superfast, stable and secure connectivity is essential to enable these digital experiences,” said Tom Craig, VP and General Manager, HPE Communications Technology Group. “With our leadership in both enterprise and cellular connectivity, HPE is the perfect partner to help customers deploy private networks that are future proofed for today’s data-first reality. Together, HPE’s private 5G solution and Aruba Wi-Fi technology promises a complete private networking solution that helps to optimize the working environment, as well as giving telcos new opportunities to grow their enterprise business.”

The private 5G solution from HPE is based on HPE 5G Core Stack, an open, cloud-native, container-based 5G core network solution. It has been enriched with new capabilities for private networking including modular operation and automation, an enterprise self-service portal, agile configuration and change management. Automated operations are managed by HPE Service Director which offers a self-service portal for enterprise users, as well as an advanced portal for service provider administrators, making life easy for customers and telcos.

“With its speed and agility and information at the edge, 5G technology is going to disrupt almost all industries. HPE plays an important role in advancing edge-to-cloud platform as-a-service strategy and uniquely brings together both enterprise and telco solutions that can bridge from the enterprise edge, across the telco network into multiple clouds. We have been partners to almost all telecom operators in India for their 4G rollout, and are now working with them for their 5G expansion plans to ensure they have the right technologies ahead of the 5G spectrum auction in India later this year”, said Som Satsangi, SVP and Managing Director, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, India. “The HPE 5G Core Stack for private 5G solution and Aruba’s Wi-Fi solutions are available with HPE GreenLake. By deploying private 5G and Wi-Fi on a pay-as-you-use basis with HPE GreenLake, networks can be deployed with reduced risk, little upfront investment and scaled according to demand.”

The private 5G solution supports a range of deployment types based on customer need. For sensitive or remote operations, such as military, shipping or oil and gas, HPE’s private 5G software provides a fully autonomous deployment with the HPE Edgeline EL8000 Converged Edge system, powered by 3rd Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processors. Where low latency is key to supporting critical applications, such as in a hospital, the solution can be distributed in a hybrid cloud with user plane functions hosted at the edge and control plane functions hosted in the cloud.

The combination of HPE’s private 5G solution together with Aruba wireless technologies enables telcos and enterprises to extend Wi-Fi with private cellular networking. HPE is pushing the envelope in developing synergies between Wi-Fi and 5G in order to lead the industry with seamless, secure mobility between cellular and enterprise networks with carrier-grade Quality of Service.

HPE’s private 5G solutions have been designed to operate in tandem with Aruba Wi-Fi networks using technologies such as Aruba Air Pass, which automates 5G and Wi-Fi roaming.

The private 5G solution has been pre-integrated with 5G radio access network (RAN) solutions from leading vendors for providing customers with end-to-end 5G network deployments. Technologies from Airspan Networks and other partners have been tested with HPE 5G Core Stack at the HPE 5G Lab in Fort Collins, Colorado. More radio partnerships will be added in the coming months.

The private 5G market is developing quickly including new market entrants, such as hyperscale cloud providers. Telecoms operators are looking for simple ways to deploy private 5G networks in order to meet growing customer expectations for the connected edge. HPE recently announced that OPTAGE, a Japanese service provider, selected HPE’s private 5G solution for its initial Local 5G testbed implementations.

For more information on HPE’s 5G portfolio, please visit: https://www.hpe.com/uk/en/solutions/5g.

Partner quotes

“We are seeing an explosion of enterprise interest in private networks, providing tremendous opportunity for innovation,” said Henrik Smith-Petersen, Airspan Networks Inc. Chief Sales and Marketing Officer. “Airspan is a leader in private network deployments, and working closely with HPE, offers customers a tremendous set of end-to-end 5G and Open RAN solutions, including critical 5G enterprise use cases.”

Last year, HPE and Airspan Networks Inc., a subsidiary of Airspan Networks Holdings Inc. (NYSE American: MIMO), validated successful interoperability for a full 5G end-to-end cloud native ecosystem through HPE’s 5G Core Stack and Airspan’s full Open RAN solution including software (CU and DU) and a sub-6GHz indoor radio (RU). For more information, please visit: https://www.airspan.com/news/airspan-networks-completes-successful-end-to-end-open-ran-tests-connected-to-hpes-5g-core-stack/

“By utilizing the HPE Core Stack based on the 3rd Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processor family, HPE can deliver a solution with the performance required for a range of environmental conditions as enterprises move workloads to the edge,” said Alex Quach, VP & GM Wireline and Core Network Division, Intel. “These type of private network solutions can help bring the value of 5G connectivity to businesses of all types, across all sectors.”