By James Blackman

Compal Electronics has deployed a private 5G network with a core network from Stockholm-based telecoms software and cybersecurity outfit Enea. The Taiwanese firm, one of the world’s largest original design manufacturers (ODMs), said it will use the 5G setup for manufacturing a range of agritech, digital healthcare, robotics, and immersive gaming products.

Enea’s 5G core network, called 5G MicroCore, promises “telco-grade robustness”, the firm reckons, with “agility for scale, speed, and secure private network provisioning”. It works, as core networks do, with sundry radio access network (RAN) solutions from different vendors, it said. The company talks in a press release about “unfettered, secure access to data over private wireless networks”.

Compal Electronics, on the Fortune 500 list, set out a requirement to “securely authenticate and provision” various devices, including augmented and virtual reality (AR and VR) headsets over 5G radio and small cells. Its new core network provides integrated data management, including a Unified Data Manager (UDM), Authentication Server Function (AUSF), and User Data Repository (UDR). Compal has sites in China, Vietnam, the US, Brazil, and Poland.

A statement said: “Enea’s innovative solution stores and manages data across all 5G core and edge functions for seamless 4G/5G interworking. With zero-touch operations and self-management features, the 5G MicroCore is easy to configure for fast deployment, even on multiple clouds to accelerate time to market. The solution works across private, public and hybrid clouds.”

Vice president at Compal, JS Liang said: “Enea is a virtualization trailblazer. We have deployed Enea’s 5G Core as part of a best-of-breed strategy to benefit from interoperable data management, simplified operations and truly elastic scalability. Thanks to 3GPP standards, we have the freedom to select innovative companies like Enea and stay clear of vendor lock-ins.”

Head of service provider sales at Enea, Jonas Jacobsson,  said: “Our 5G MicroCore solves another critical issue. Our virtualized technology is cutting total cost of ownership (TCO) by up to 50 per cent, while boosting sustainability for enterprises and operators. The 5G MicroCore solution makes a tangible difference, reducing the number of servers – cutting the carbon footprint – with no trade-offs in performance.”