State Grid, China Unicom, Huawei, and TD Tech Win GSMA GLOMO's "Best Private Network Solution" for The Inclusive 5G Smart Grid Solution

[Barcelona, Spain, February 29, 2024] At MWC Barcelona 2024, the State Grid, China Unicom, Huawei, and TD Tech, took home GSMA GLOMO's "Best Private Network Solution" Award for the inclusive 5G smart grid solution. This shows the industry's recognition of their achievements in applying 5G in power grids as 5G smart grids enter the stage of large-scale commercial rollout.

The Inclusive 5G Smart Grid Solution Wins GSMA GLOMO's "Best Private Network Solution"

The inclusive 5G smart grid solution was jointly developed by the State Grid, China Unicom, Huawei, and TD Tech based on the extensive 5G networks built by China Unicom. It uses end-to-end (E2E) deterministic slicing to ensure electric power services have exclusive access to public network resources, and also Reduced Capability (RedCap) — a lightweight 5G technology — to ensure wide coverage of secure and cost-effective 5G connections for all power-grid services through simplified 5G deployment.

• Wide coverage: China Unicom has deployed more than 2 million, or 40%, of the world's 5G base stations through co-construction and sharing. This enables it to provide ubiquitous 5G coverage for power grids.
• High security: The solution integrates RB reservation, FlexE small-granularity transport slicing, and dedicated User Plane Function (UPF) to provide E2E deterministic slicing. This enables the 5G networks to fulfill the security isolation requirements of electric power services.
• Cost effectiveness: IntelligentRAN 5G RedCap enables 5G to deliver optimal performance in a cost-effective way, by reducing the cost of electric power devices by 60%.
• Simplified deployment: The solution uses RAN Digital Twin Systems to assess service provisioning, so as to achieve a one-time provisioning success rate of up to 90%.

The solution has now seen widespread commercial deployment across Shandong province, where China Unicom Shandong, State Grid's Shandong branch, and Huawei worked together to build the world's largest 5G virtual private network. With more than 30,000 5G base stations deployed, the network provides over 100,000 5G connections to embed 5G into the full electric power process, from power generation, transmission, and transformation to distribution and consumption. A number of 5G-based electric power applications, such as on-grid control for distributed PV power, distribution automation, precise load control, and power consumption data collection, have been launched in a very short period of time to build a solid foundation for new grids.

Wang Yong, the vice director of the digitalization division at State Grid Shandong, thanked GSMA for its recognition of the achievements of 5G innovation in the electric power sector, while also showing his gratitude to China Unicom, Huawei, and TD Tech for their support. "We will continue to work with China Unicom and Huawei to expand the footprint of 5G smart grids in the electric power sector," added Wang, who estimates that there will be 300,000 5G connections and 150,000 RedCap devices in the sector by June 2024.

Commenting on the award, Si Shuguo, Vice President of Enterprise Businesses for China Unicom Shandong, described how China Unicom is honored to receive the award together with the State Grid, Huawei, and TD Tech. The success of the inclusive 5G smart grid solution in Shandong reflect the promising future of 5G in various industry applications. "We will continue to build 5G private network PLUS to provide high quality services for electric power and other sectors as we look to bring better 5G connections to enterprises and society at large," explained Wang.

Sven Zhu, Marketing Vice President of Huawei Wireless Solutions, remarked: "We are very grateful to be recognized by GSMA for our inclusive 5G smart power grid solution. Huawei will continue to work with operators and partners to stimulate 5G application innovation and expand digital and intelligent transformation across industries."

MWC Barcelona 2024 will be held from February 26 to February 29 in Barcelona, Spain. During the event, Huawei will showcase its latest products and solutions at stand 1H50 in Fira Gran Via Hall 1.

With the 2024 commercial launch of 5.5G, Huawei is collaborating with operators and partners around the world to pursue exciting new innovation in networks, cloud, and intelligence. Together, we will drive 5G business and foster a thriving industry ecosystem, creating a new era for intelligent digital transformation. For more information, please visit: https://carrier.huawei.com/en/events/mwc2024.