How are you evolving toward a unified, multi-plant captive private 5G network while simplifying operations for GMR’s IT and OT teams?
Speaker: Abhijit Chaudhary (Niral Networks)
We have the NiralOS Controller, which manages both the private 5G network and the private 5G cloud from a centralized interface. GMR operates around six to seven energy plants, and they are already discussing the expansion of the solution to their next plant. The controller we provide can be deployed on a global scale—such as in their headquarters—allowing them to manage all multi-site private 5G deployments from a single point.
Centralized Operations, Provisioning, and Monitoring
Through this centralized controller, their IT team can configure and provision SIMs for each site, manage user and device access, and monitor network performance across all plants. The ability to oversee every private 5G network instance from headquarters was extremely important to them. They explained that personnel often move between plants, and they needed a system that allowed unified SIM provisioning so that the same SIM credentials would work seamlessly at all six or seven locations. This ensures that workers can move between plants and immediately attach to the private 5G network without needing to be provisioned separately at each site.
Distributed UPF with Centralized Control Plane
They also asked whether we could deploy the UPF at each plant while keeping the control plane centralized in one or two sites for redundancy. Our solution fully supports distributed UPF, which means we can deploy a central control plane for the 5G core and distribute UPFs across all sites. This architecture gives them a local breakout for low-latency traffic at each plant while maintaining unified control functions across the enterprise. The flexibility of this design matched exactly what GMR needed for their multi-plant expansion strategy.
Simplified IT Operations and Future Scalability
The NiralOS solution is designed for ease of management and scalability. The SDN-based, browser-accessible controller allows the GMR IT team to manage all plants with minimal 5G-specific expertise. Unified SIM and device provisioning streamlines onboarding across facilities, and our system remains vendor-independent, supporting different radio vendors and site-specific layouts. The modular, future-proof architecture also allows GMR to integrate new plants, add new use cases, or upgrade capabilities without re-engineering the entire system.
Overall, the platform gives GMR a unified, multi-plant captive private 5G environment that is simple to operate, flexible to expand, and consistent across all energy facilities in its network.
