Industrial IoT (IIoT) is the biggest enterprise market segment, and therefore Industrial IoT was given high priority in 5G standardization. The timeline for 5G and the 4th industrial transformation (Industry 4.0) seemed to align perfectly, so the joint investment in standards and development seemed to make perfect sense. The needs of this vertical were studied very carefully, and requirements to 5G standards were drafted based on inputs from key industrial automation companies. The standout features for Industrial IoT included support for time sensitive communication and 1ms latency together with URLLC features as well as options for non-public networks (NPN).
5G-ACIA published a whitepaper on 5G NPNs in March 2024. 5G NPNs are already used for industrial applications today. When we analyze the different NPN deployment options, we start from real life-type example industrial operation scenarios. Then we present example NPN deployment options that support the use cases, are based on standard technology and in line with the market offering today. From there we discuss the different aspects that affect selecting the deployment option as well.
Now, at the time of early but defining first steps of 6G, when we look at the 5G situation, we learn there is still some way to go to meet some expectations on IIoT specifics. The current IIoT deployments focus on use cases such as connected workers, worker safety and machine digital twins, which mainly do not utilize features specifically designed for IIoT, and many of the networks are still using 4G technology.
This presentation also discusses what the experiences from the marketplace are, what is good and where we still need improvements, and most importantly how we can use the experience going forward to 6G. Based on our experience, we explain why 5G IIoT is taking more time than expected, how standardization should address this learning, and in specific why some of the 5G IIoT requirements are still relevant for 6G standards development and how to phase the work.
Nokia is one of the founding members of 5G-ACIA and Uli Rehfuess will proovide some insightful views on where we on the road towards Industrial 5G are.