Network

The 5G-CRESCA project will develop a 5G NSA/SA hybrid and private MPN (Mobile Private Network) which will allow new capabilities to deliver smarter, more efficient, and resilient services with enhanced security and privacy required in applications such as eLearning, health and industry.

The network is characterised as private – it will provide dedicated coverage to the areas of the project and will allow private access to terminals equipped with designated SIM cards- and as hybrid – it will also allow private terminals to access the coverage areas of the public network with a special profile, to guarantee the performance necessary for the use cases, and the coverage provided within the project areas will be also used to extend the public one, still guaranteeing that private applications receive the expected performance.

The MPN’s ability to customize network parameters and allocate resources based on specific requirements allows for optimized performance tailored to the unique demands of applications like immersive learning and data analytics.

It will also enable private terminals to access public network coverage areas with a special profile, ensuring the performance required for the use cases. Additionally, the coverage provided within the project areas will be used to extend the public network while guaranteeing that private applications receive the expected performance.

The implementation of the project will take place within the University Campuses of the Politecnico di Milano, Policlinico di Milano, a general hospital associated with the school of medicine, MADE Competence Center and the Museo del Violino, a museum dedicated to violins. In these locations, the current 5G public coverage falls short of supporting the efficient execution of the UCs.

The planned coverage extension will be implemented with dedicated indoor 5G small-cells on the medium and high-bands (3.7/26 GHz), supported by indoor small-cells on the mid-bands ready for future 4G to 5G refarming to ensure 5G stand-alone support. Looking to the outdoor areas, the existing macro sites will be upgraded with a millimetre wave 5G frequency layer at 26 GHz, able to deliver a boast capacity for uplink and a 5G layer at 3700 MHz if not present/available.

The Multi-access Edge Computing (MEC) will be located at the Polimi Campus Leonardo while a local breakout will be used to connect the network data plane to the servers of the IRSS Ca’Granda for the Holographic surgical simulation UC. Other UCs will also make use of the local breakout to connect to the Polimi and MADE data centres, in addition to the use of the MEC.