Orange tests new 5G hybrid service with private network features on commercial infrastructure

Orange said that it has carried out tests of a new 5G service at its office in Arcueil (Ile-de-France region). Dubbed “Mobile Private Network hybrid”, the service has been tested with a router from Cradlepoint on the 5G commercial infrastructure that Orange is currently deploying across France with technical partners Ericsson, Nokia and Oracle. It will become available from the operator’s B2B arm, Orange Business, and will take advantage of the capabilities of 5G SA (Standalone) in terms of network slicing, Local Break Out (LBO) routing, and edge computing.

In the test completed in Arcueil, Orange demonstrated how a dedicated slice of its public 5G network can be used for a critical application alongside another supporting non-critical services. In this dual-slice configuration, a laptop connected to the Cradlepoint router with a single SIM card accessed simultaneously a video call on the public 5G infrastructure and an application for industrial monitoring, which transmitted data through a dedicated local private network.

Orange highlighted that “Mobile Private Network hybrid” can deliver complete separation of resources, protecting the dedicated slice to the core of the 5G network. As a result, the service can offer all the benefits associated to private network installations, such as guaranteed bandwidth, low latency and reinforced security.