How 5G Can Transform Remote Connectivity

Huawei’s Mobile VPN solution employs ULCL (uplink classifier) steering technology to physically isolate the traffic from the public Internet (see graphic below). Located on an edge UPF within a 5G core network, the ULCL technology removes the need for an individual to use one SIM card for the public Internet and another SIM card to access a private VPN. The ULCL enables a single cloud server to direct traffic to either the public Internet or a private intranet. Huawei says it is adding the intelligent traffic distribution capability of the ULCL technology on to 4G networks to enable 4G operators to also offer mobile VPN services.

“The new technology can smartly identify which network you are trying to access with one unified phone or SIM card and distribute your data and your requirement for the network through one edge UPF to the enterprise intranet or to the Internet,” says Ge Lei. “You can use one SIM card to connect both the private network and also the public network. I think that's the key value here.”

The mobile VPN solution enables students and lecturers at Guangdong University of Foreign Studies to have a consistent experience regardless of whether they are located inside or outside the campus (see graphic below). The unified network enables the end-user to access entertainment services, web browsing and the university intranet through a single device.

Compared with using a VPN over Wi-Fi, a mobile VPN is more secure – all the traffic is transmitted within the operator’s protected cellular network. The operator also handles all the network maintenance, removing the need for the organisation to maintain the VPN gateway and Wi-Fi network.

Huawei says its Mobile VPN solution is helping China’s operators to bolster their presence and their revenues in the consumer market. For example, the improved user experience may entice existing students to subscribe to mobile VPN campus cards as a value-added service, which costs 10 yuan a month. That should help operators increase the average revenue per user (ARPU) in the B2C market.

“Operators' revenue from Mobile VPN consists of the mobile VPN construction fee (involving shared UPFs and private lines) charged to industry customers and the mobile VPN use fee charged to end users who have subscribed to the Mobile VPN service package,” explains Ge Lei.

China Mobile Guangdong’s Mobile VPN offering, which serves more than 180,000 end users, is profitable. The operator is now exploring implementing a national roaming solution to ensure that campus services can be accessed in roaming scenarios.

This proves that the solution is solid enough to be promoted on a large scale, accelerating the digital transformation of campuses,” adds Ge Lei. “Thanks to the large user base, Mobile VPN will unleash great economic value, and is unequivocally the optimal choice to meet 5G private network requirements.”

Huawei is working with all the operators in China to offer the Mobile VPN solution – the goal is to enable an organisation’s entire staff or user base to benefit from the technology, without having to switch to a different operator. Huawei is also trialling the Mobile VPN solution with operators outside China.

Huawei says the solution is in demand in education, public services, culture and tourism, healthcare, and other sectors where people look to securely access intranets anytime, anywhere. In the public sector, it can be used to securely deliver government and municipal services to citizens, support remote video conferences and important health- or emergency-related communications.

In the healthcare sector, a mobile VPN can be used to enable patients’ mobile devices to securely transmit large volumes of data back to hospital intranets in real time, potentially improving the efficiency of a treatment. The technology can also be used to enable video consultations between medics and remote patients.

Enterprises are using the Mobile VPN solution to enable remote staff to access both the Internet and intranet with lower latency and higher speeds, thereby improving work efficiency. The technology can be used, for example, to enable secure video conferences, workflow processing, online engineering design and simulation, and file transfers, among other applications.

“Within the next year, Mobile VPN will be widely used in education, public services, healthcare, remote office, and campus management,” concludes Ge Lei. “Mobile VPN is faster and more secure, it can meet a user’s requirement to securely access the Internet and campus intranet at the same time.”