Enterprise mobile network radio unit
A service provider implements an enterprise mobile network radio unit providing enterprise customers with facilities to connect enterprise-provided white box radio unit hardware to public cloud-based network infrastructure to implement private wireless connectivity across a range of service types. The public infrastructure is provided by the service provider to support a universal enterprise mobile network operating over cellular frequencies including Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) in the 3.5 GHz range. The enterprise mobile network radio unit includes a portal having a user interface that enables enterprise customers to manage their individual private cellular networks and a radio registration entity that interfaces with the enterprise-provided hardware. The radio registration entity points the radios to appropriate functions in the universal enterprise mobile network and collects information from the radios to enable connectivity between the enterprise-provided radios and a core network of the universal enterprise mobile network.
1 . One or more hardware-based non-transitory computer-readable memory devices storing computer-executable instructions which, upon execution by one or more processors disposed in a computing device including a radio frequency (RF) transceiver, cause the computing device to:
implement an automated discovery process by which the computing device identifies a radio registration entity associated with a core network of a mobile network;
implement an automated registration process by showing the radio registration entity that the computing device is authorized to implement a radio access network that is interoperable with the core network; and
implement an automated connection process by which the computing device establishes a connection to the core network to provide access to user equipment to the core network over the radio access network, wherein, responsively to the authorization, the computing device receives from the radio registration entity, a core-network configuration file that includes authentication credentials for the computing device and identifiers of instances of virtualized network functions in the core network that are assigned for an enterprise, and the computing device uses the authentication credentials to connect to the identified instances to complete the connection.
2 . The one or more hardware-based non-transitory computer-readable memory devices of claim 1 in which the automated discovery process comprises broadcasting an RF discovery signal that is receivable by the radio registration entity and providing identification information to the radio registration entity.
3 . The one or more hardware-based non-transitory computer-readable memory devices of claim 1 in which the executed instructions further cause the computing device to receive authentication credentials from the radio registration entity that are used to implement a secure connection to the core network.
4 . The one or more hardware-based non-transitory computer-readable memory devices of claim 3 in which the secure connection is implemented in accordance with 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) TS 33.501.
5 . The one or more hardware-based non-transitory computer-readable memory devices of claim 1 in which the user equipment comprises an IoT (Internet-of-Things) device.
6 . A radio unit, comprising:
one or more processors;
a radio frequency (RF) transceiver; and
one or more hardware-based non-transitory computer-readable storage devices having computer-executable instructions stored thereon which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the radio unit to:
transmit an RF discovery signal to advertise presence to a mobile network comprising a software-defined core network instantiated on public cloud-based infrastructure;
provide identification to a radio registration entity associated with the mobile network responding to the discovery signal, wherein the identification establishes authorization for connecting to the core network as infrastructure for a radio access network;
receive, from the radio registration entity, a core-network configuration file that includes authentication credentials for the radio unit and identifiers of instances of virtualized network functions in the core network that are assigned for an enterprise;
utilize the received authentication credentials to connect to the identified network functions in the core network; and
carry traffic from user equipment through the radio access network to the core network.
7 . The radio unit of claim 6 further comprising an integrated distributed unit (DU) compliant with 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) specifications.
8 . The radio unit of claim 7 further comprising an integrated centralized unit (CU) compliant with 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) specifications.
9 . The radio unit of claim 6 in which the traffic from the user equipment comprises one of voice traffic or data traffic.
10 . The radio unit of claim 6 in which the network functions comprise an access and mobility management function (AMF) and a user plane function (UPF) in the core network as arranged as a 5G (fifth-generation) core network.
11 . The radio unit of claim 6 in which the network functions comprise a mobility management entity (MME) in the core network as arranged as a 4G LTE (fourth-generation Long Term Evolution) evolved packet core network.
12 . The radio unit of claim 6 as implemented using a white box appliance.