Overview
Since the development of modern telecommunications there has been a need for networks that provide communications services for customers with specific industrial requirements. Private telecoms networks can be better suited than the public network at meeting such requirements, including improved reliability, security, and higher bandwidth.
Private telecoms networks based on 3G, 4G, and legacy technologies are already in use in many sectors across the UK. The deployment of standalone and advanced 5G [footnote 1] is likely to lead to further growth in the market for private telecoms networks as organisations aim to take advantage of the high reliability, low latency, and high capacity offered by this latest generation of communications technologies. As set out in the governments Wireless Infrastructure Strategy, 5G has the potential to enable mission-critical services and underpin technologies that can bring significant economic benefits. [footnote 2]
The market for private telecoms networks is different to the public networks market. The fact that private telecoms networks are procured to fulfil specific business needs, and to offer customised connectivity means there is an important role for smaller specialist vendors, as well as large technology companies, including hyperscalers. The lower barriers to entry of the private telecoms networks market create opportunities for new providers and different models of provision, involving a wider range of companies such as system integrators.
It is important to understand the implications of the increasing use of private telecoms networks. For example, if businesses providing services critical to the UK become increasingly reliant on such networks, damage or disruption to those networks could have significant impacts on the users of critical services. Therefore, risks associated with such private telecoms networks must be appropriately managed. This includes protecting them against external threats as well as ensuring they are resilient to accidents, system outages and natural hazards now and in the future.
This call for information is intended to help the government obtain further information and views on the use, security and resilience of private telecoms networks. Anyone can respond to the call for information. However, we are particularly interested to hear from those involved in the development and provision of such networks, and the organisations that currently use them, or plan to use them in the future.
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) will use the responses to help determine whether specific government intervention is needed to promote the security and resilience of private telecoms networks.
We would welcome information and views on the use, security and resilience of private telecoms networks in the UK. The specific questions for which we are seeking answers through this call for information are set out in Sections 1-4 below.
Please use this online survey wherever possible torespond to the call for information, as this will help us to analyse the responses.
Alternatively, you can submit your response to the callfor information by emailing it to private.networks.cfi@dcms.gov.uk.
Hard copy responses can be sent to:
Telecoms Security Policy Team Department for Science, Innovation and Technology 100 Parliament Street London SW1A 2BQ
The information and views you provide will be considered in shaping future policy development and may be shared between UK government departments and agencies for this purpose. Personal information will be removed in such instances. Copies of responses, in full or in summary, may be published after the call for information closing date on the Department for Science, Innovation and Technologys website. If you wish for part of your response to remain confidential, please identify the part and state the reason.
You may find it helpful to have the call for information document open in another window, so that you can easily refer back to it while answering the survey. This survey will automatically take you to questions relevant to you based on your previous answers.
Once started, you are able to return to complete the survey on the same device at any time before the survey closes. When you are ready to submit your response, please follow the survey instructions. Once submitted, you will no longer have access to your response. Please note that you will only be able to complete the survey once.
All responses should be submitted in advance of the closing date for this call for information, which is 11:45pm on Wednesday 13 September 2023.
If you have any questions or comments please email private.networks.cfi@dcms.gov.uk.
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You will be asked to provide your organisation name when you complete the survey. If you are filling in the survey in a personal capacity rather than on behalf of an organisation, you will be asked for your name instead.
Your organisation name will also be used to help provide additional context for your responses, for example helping DSIT understand why you may have responded in a particular way. It will help us understand your position, insights and priorities within the wider telecoms market.
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A private telecoms network is an electronic communications network which is not provided wholly or mainly for the purpose of making electronic communications services available to members of the public. [footnote 3]
For the purpose of this call for information private telecoms networks can be broadly understood as referring to bespoke telecoms networks that are only available for a closed user group. This is as opposed to public telecoms networks that provide a standard network or service to individuals or businesses, relying on common infrastructure. Business-to-business networks typically rely on this common infrastructure, but may be considered private telecoms networks if they are delivered on bespoke network infrastructure. Some examples of private 5G telecoms networks are set out below.
Private telecoms networks are built on the sites of large ports. These networks provide 5G in place of public LTE and Wi-Fi networks. 5G communications are better equipped to provide the full range of capabilities required by the closed user group of port workers.
The private telecoms networks allow the workers to utilise Internet of Things (IoT) devices, and use real-time analytics combined with machine learning to improve the efficiency. This functionality is greatly aided by the low latency a private 5G network provides.
Private telecoms networks are used to provide connectivity for connected places technologies in a city centre. A LoRaWan network is used to provide low power and long range connectivity.
This network connects a range of IoT devices to improve communications, planning and public services. This includes deploying smart services, such as smart bins, intelligent street lighting and smart parking. Sensors are also able to carry out environmental monitoring, for example detecting pollution levels to inform planning decisions.
In the future, hospitals will be able to use private 5G networks to test a number of use cases for clinicians, including IoT technology, augmented reality headsets and artificial intelligence (AI) processes. The IoT aspect includes smart medicine storage and e-observations, which electronically record patient observations.
The low latency of 5G will enable clinicians to control IoT devices in near-real time. This network is only accessible to those working in the hospital, and the bespoke network infrastructure is limited to the hospitals campus.
Within the call for information questionnaire some questions have been targeted at specific types of organisations. For the purpose of this call for information, we have defined the following user groups:
In this call for information we are focused on newer, or yet to be deployed, networks. For that reason we have focused this call for information on networks that have been developed in the last five years and networks that are planned or likely to be rolled out in the next five years.
The term critical sectors is also used throughout this document. A sector would be deemed critical should it provide infrastructure that would result in major detrimental impacts on the availability, delivery or integrity of essential services, leading to severe economic or social consequences or to loss of life, should it be lost or compromised.
For the purpose of this call for information, we would define any of the following sectors as critical: chemicals, civil nuclear, defence, emergency services, energy, finance, food, government, health, space, transport and water.
For the purpose of this call for information security can be defined as the protection of a network against external threats, such as cyber attacks. This includes taking steps to identify and reduce the risk of anything that compromises the availability, performance or functionality of the network.
For the purpose of this call for information resilience means the ability of the network to withstand, respond to and recover from disruption. This can include the response to natural hazards such as extreme weather as well as cyber attacks.
This section is designed to provide us with basic information about you and/or your organisation to improve our understanding of the types of organisation providing and using private telecoms networks. It also helps us to put your subsequent answers into context.
1. Are you responding as an individual or on behalf of an organisation?
If you are responding as an individual please go directly to section 4 - Policy Questions.
2. What is the name of your organisation?
3. Including yourself, how many people work in your organisation across the UK as a whole?
4. What role does your organisation have?
Please tick more than one if appropriate.
5. If your organisation is a provider, what type of provider is it?
Please tick more than one if appropriate.
If your organisation is a provider of private telecoms networks, please proceed to section 2.
If your organisation is a customer of a private telecoms network provider please go directly to section 3.
Otherwise please please go directly to section 4.
This section is designed to be answered by providers of private telecoms networks. This includes designers and developers of private telecoms networks, organisations operating private telecoms networks for customers, systems integrators and vendors that are involved in the provision of networks. The questions focus on identifying the types and uses of private telecoms networks provided to customers.
6. What type of connectivity do your networks provide?
Tick all that apply.
7. What size are the organisations to which you provide private telecoms networks?
Tick all that apply:
8. Do you provide networks in critical sectors?
Critical sectors include chemicals, civil nuclear, defence, emergency services, energy, finance, food, government, health, space, transport and water.
9. If so, which sectors?
10. Who is the end user of the connectivity your networks provide?
Tick all that apply
11. Should your network go down, what would be the type(s) of impacts for the end user?
Tick all that apply:
Please provide details.
12. What, if any, systems are reliant upon your networks?
If the private network in question were to fail would it have a knock on effect on any other systems. For example, are security systems (for example, automatic locks) or smart devices dependent on a connection to this network.
13. How reliant are those systems on your network?
14. What systems are your networks reliant upon?
Are there systems which if they were to fail would have a knock on effect on the running of your network? For example, a voice communication network could be reliant on power and would fail in a power outage.
15. How reliant are the networks on those other systems?
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