Public 5G, Private 5G/CBRS & FWA — Engineered, Zero-Trust, and Proven
5G is more than phone bars. It’s a converged access fabric for branches, vehicles, yards/campuses, pop-ups, IoT, and video/AR—when it’s designed with the right radios, backhaul, policies, and evidence.
SolveForce delivers 5G wireless as a system: spectrum & RF design, macro/small cells and CBRS for private networks, mobile WAN for sites and fleets, MEC/edge compute, Zero-Trust access, SD-WAN policy, and evidence pipelines—so every attach, handover, and change is measurable and auditable.
Related pages
• Private 5G & CBRS → /private-5g • Spectrum/CBRS → /cbrs • Mobility WAN → /mobile-connectivity
• LAN/Wi-Fi → /lan • /wlan • Overlay → /sd-wan • Edge/MEC → /edge-data-centers
• Security → /ztna • /sase • /nac • /pam • Keys/Secrets → /key-management • /secrets-management
• IoT & Data → /suite-of-internet-of-things-iot • /etl-elt • Evidence → /siem-soar
🎯 Outcomes We Optimize
- Always-on sites & fleets— 5G as primary or secondary WAN, with SD-WAN brownout steering and packet-dup/FEC for real-time apps.
- Deterministic mobility— private 5G/CBRS for yards/campuses; Wi-Fi inside, 5G outside—steered by role and SLO.
- Faster turn-ups— pop-ups/events/temporary sites live in hours or days, not months.
- Secure by default— SIM/eSIM identity, private APNs, IPsec to hubs, ZTNA for apps & admin; no flat VPNs.
- Evidence on demand— RSRP/RSRQ/SINR, attach/handovers, throughput/latency/jitter, policy diffs → SIEM/SOAR.
🧭 Reference Architecture (public 5G + private 5G + SD-WAN)
Access & RF
- Public 5G/LTE for mobility & FWA.
- Private 5G/CBRS small cells for campus/yard determinism (SIM identity, QoS slices). → /private-5g • /cbrs
Edge & Core
- Vehicle/branch gateways (dual-SIM) + antenna systems; IPsec to hubs or ZTNA to private apps.
- Optional MEC at edge data centers for sub-20 ms local apps. → /edge-data-centers
Overlay & Policy
- SD-WAN per-app SLOs; packet duplication for EF, FEC for video; Anycast ingress for UC/CCaaS and APIs. → /sd-wan
Identity & Security
- SIM/eSIM lifecycle; private APN with static IPs; SSO/MFA for consoles; ZTNA for app & admin; SASE for web/SaaS; PAM JIT for elevated ops. → /ztna • /sase • /pam
Observability & Evidence
- RF health (RSRP/RSRQ/SINR), attach/TAU, throughput/latency/jitter, path flips, SIM ops → /siem-soar.
📦 Service Catalog (what we design & operate)
1) 5G Branch / FWA (Fixed Wireless Access) — primary or backup internet for sites; dual-underlay with DIA/coax/fixed wireless; SD-WAN policy.
2) Private 5G/CBRS (Enterprise RAN) — spectrum plan, small-cell layout, SIM lifecycle, slice/QoS, local breakout; Wi-Fi coexistence.
3) Fleet/Vehicle WAN — dual-SIM routers, antenna design, private APN, SD-WAN, ELD/telematics integration.
4) 5G for IoT — LTE-M/NB-IoT/RedCap planning; APN design; broker/ingest; topic ACLs and DLP egress policies.
5) MEC/Edge Apps — low-latency inference/video/RTLS; secure API exposure; Anycast ingress and routing policy.
6) Security & Identity — ZTNA to private services, SASE policy, NAC at campus edges; KMS/HSM for keys; vault for secrets.
7) Observability & Evidence — drive/walk tests, RF maps, KPI boards, change diffs; artifacts to SIEM.
🔢 5G Bands & Profiles (planning matrix)
| Layer | Typical Bands* | Coverage | Throughput (real-world p95) | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low band | 600/700/850/900 MHz | Wide | 30–150 Mb/s DL | Rural coverage, indoor penetration |
| Mid band (sub-6, incl. CBRS 3.5 GHz) | 1.8–3.7 GHz | City/campus | 100–600 Mb/s DL | Primary WAN, private 5G/CBRS |
| High band (mmWave 24–39+ GHz) | Short-range | Venue | 1–3+ Gb/s DL | Stadiums/campuses, AR/VR, dense events |
* Band availability varies by country/operator; CBRS applies in the U.S.
🧰 Use-Case Patterns
- Branch @ Scale— 5G primary or secondary + SD-WAN; packet duplication for EF; SASE breakouts; DIA for hubs.
- Pop-Ups/Events— rapid turn-up with 5G primary; portable edge; demobilize easily.
- Logistics / Ports / Airports— private 5G outside, Wi-Fi inside; RTLS/OCR cameras; SD-WAN to core. → /logistics
- Industrial / OT (Industry 4.0)— deterministic RF for AGVs/AMRs; local UPF/MEC; OPC-UA/MQTT over private APN. → /industry-4-0-in-automation
- Healthcare & Field Clinics— HIPAA overlays; ZTNA to EHR; PHI-aware DLP for transcripts. → /hipaa
- Fleets / First Responders— dual-SIM, private APN, QoS lanes for voice/video, dispatch CCaaS. → /ccaas
🔐 Security That Sticks
- Identity— SIM/eSIM lifecycle, private APNs, static IP pools; device allow-lists.
- Perimeter— ZTNA for private apps, SASE for web/SaaS, WAF/Bot for portals; email auth (DMARC/BIMI) for workflows.
- Admin— PAM JIT approvals & recording; signer hosts attested; vault-issued short-lived creds; KMS/HSM keys.
- Compliance— HIPAA/PCI/NIST/SOC2/ISO evidence packs; CJIS for public safety; exportable artifacts. → /grc
📐 SLO Guardrails (targets you can tune)
| Domain | KPI / SLO (p95 unless noted) | Target |
|---|---|---|
| Attach | 5G/LTE attach time | ≤ 5–10 s |
| Handover | Intra/Inter-cell HO | ≤ 50–150 ms |
| Latency (UE→app w/ MEC) | End-to-end | ≤ 10–20 ms |
| Latency (regional cloud) | UE→region edge | ≤ 20–50 ms |
| Throughput (mid-band) | DL / UL | 100–600 / 20–100 Mb/s |
| Jitter / Loss | One-way / sustained | ≤ 20–30 ms / < 0.5% |
| Brownout steer | SD-WAN path change | ≤ 1–3 s |
| Security | ZTNA admin attach | ≤ 1–3 s |
| Evidence | Telemetry → SIEM | ≤ 60–120 s |
When a guardrail trips, SOAR opens a case and runs safe plays (switch path, enable packet-dup, throttle or prioritize flows, rotate keys, rollback config), with artifacts attached. → /siem-soar
🧪 Acceptance Tests & Artifacts (we keep the receipts)
- RF— site/drive/walk tests (RSRP/RSRQ/SINR/CQI), channelization, interference; photos/LOS for fixed wireless.
- Throughput/Latency— iperf/synthetic; MEC vs regional; attach/TAU timers; HO success.
- Antenna— gain/placement, MIMO verification; cabling/grounding; lightning protection checks.
- APN & IP— private APN provisioning, static IP assignment, IPsec to hubs, NAT mapping; inbound ZTNA tests.
- SD-WAN— packet duplication/FEC efficacy, failover timers, per-app path policy.
- Security— ZTNA admits, SASE/WAF events, PAM session recordings, KMS/vault rotations, DMARC/TLS-RPT headers.
Artifacts stream into /siem-soar for QBRs/audits.
🔢 Device & Plan Planning
| Class | Notes |
|---|---|
| Branch/FWA CPE | Dual-SIM, carrier aggregation, external antennas; PoE for ease; support for IPsec & SD-WAN client |
| Vehicle Gateways | GNSS + dual-SIM + Wi-Fi AP + IPsec; ruggedized power; ELD/telematics inputs |
| IoT Modules | LTE-M/NB-IoT/5G RedCap; low-power modes; private APN; certificate-based auth |
| Handhelds/Scanners | Wi-Fi 6/6E inside; 5G outside; ZTNA client; MDM/UEM compliance |
| Antennas | Directional vs omni; MIMO count; cable loss; mounting & grounding plans |
🧱 Best Practices (field-tested)
- Engineer diversity— dual carriers/providers/POPs; add satellite tertiary where it makes sense; keep diversity letters.
- Pick the right radio— Wi-Fi for indoor density; 5G mid-band outdoors; mmWave for extreme hotspots; CBRS for deterministic campus mobility.
- Private APN + IPsec— avoid CGNAT surprises; enable inbound ZTNA if needed.
- Separate alarm vs bulk— QoS and topic design keep urgent flows ahead of bulk.
- Tune antennas— mount, aim, and cable-length matter; test MIMO and SNR improvements.
- Quarterly drills— carrier outage, APN change, antenna failure, SD-WAN path flip; archive artifacts.
📝 5G Intake (copy-paste & fill)
- Sites/vehicles/users(counts, regions, coverage pain points)
- Use-cases(branch WAN, FWA, fleet, RTLS, video/AR, IoT) & SLOs (latency/throughput/attach)
- Radios(public 5G/LTE, Private 5G/CBRS, Wi-Fi), backhaul (DIA/coax/fixed-wireless/satellite)
- APN/IP(private APN, static IPs, IPsec to hubs), NAT needs
- Security(IdP/SSO/MFA, ZTNA/SASE/NAC, KMS/vault, WAF/Bot, email auth)
- Edge/MEC(apps, GPU, storage), camera/RTLS needs
- IoT(modules, protocols, topic ACLs, DLP)
- Compliance(HIPAA/PCI/NIST/CJIS/etc.), BAAs/DPAs
- Operations(managed vs co-managed, SIEM destination, change windows, TEM goals)
- Budget & timeline, success metrics (SLOs, cost)
We’ll return a design-to-quote with carrier options, RF/antenna plans, SLO-mapped pricing, compliance overlays, and an evidence plan for audits and QBRs.
Or jump straight to /customized-quotes.
📞 Put 5G to Work—Securely, Reliably, and With Proof
- Call: (888) 765-8301
- Email: contact@solveforce.com
From branch FWA and fleet WAN to private 5G/CBRS and MEC, we’ll engineer 5G that’s fast, secure, cost-smart—and auditable.
Key terms in plain language
Open a term for a concise explanation of language used on this page.
Latency
The time it takes data to travel between two points. Lower latency improves voice, video meetings, cloud applications, gaming, and other real-time services.
Dedicated Internet Access (DIA)
A business-grade Internet connection with capacity dedicated to the customer rather than shared in the same way as typical consumer broadband. It often includes symmetrical speeds and an SLA.
SD-WAN
Software-defined wide area networking. It manages multiple connections and chooses paths based on application needs, performance, and policy to improve resilience and control.
VPN
A virtual private network creates an encrypted connection across another network, commonly allowing remote users or offices to access private resources securely.
Software as a Service (SaaS)
Software accessed as an online service instead of being installed and maintained entirely on the customer’s own computers or servers.
Zero Trust
A security model that does not automatically trust a user or device because of its location. Access is continuously verified and limited to what is necessary.
SASE
Secure Access Service Edge combines networking and security capabilities in a cloud-delivered architecture so users and locations can receive consistent policy wherever they connect.
Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
A login control requiring more than one form of verification, such as a password plus an authenticator app, security key, or biometric factor.