​AT&T said its publicly announced MOCN test bed in Chicago is just one of several such neutral host trials in which the carrier is participating. JR Wilson, AT&T VP of Tower Strategy and Roaming, compared the MOCN market to a popcorn maker, with a few kernels popping now and an explosion of activity ahead. “The demand and the funnel that we have is huge,” he said.

 

Multi-operator core networks (MOCN) are a relatively new take on the neutral host model. Multiple wireless operators can connect to shared core network technology instead of locating their own equipment at the enterprise site.

 

Several neutral host vendors are focusing on MOCN, and Wilson said that’s a big part of the reason AT&T is ready to connect to these systems. He named JMA Wireless, Dense Air Networks, Highway 9 and Celona as good examples of neutral host vendors the carrier talks to about MOCN.

 

Universities, big box retailers, healthcare facilities and factories are among the organizations exploring MOCN deployments with AT&T, Wilson said. Some of these enterprises may have been thinking about DAS for years, and finally realized that no carrier is likely to build them one.

 

“They are coming to the realization that if they want the coverage, they have to make the investment,” Wilson said. “What is interesting about the neutral host network is that with the ones I have seen the enterprise is not building them just for connectivity to devices and tablets.  They want their own applications to layer onto it. They could do that with a DAS, but that is an extensive installation with a high degree of carrier installation. But with MOCN they can work with one third party and then have a true private network element hanging off the side to do whatever they want.” Chicago’s Millenium Parking Garage is a good example of this. The garage wants to add applications to its in-building system to support financial transactions for EV chargers or navigation for people who have lost their cars.

 

For AT&T, the incentive to work with Millennium was subscriber satisfaction. “We want to avoid having scenarios where you pull into the garage and your call drops,” said Wilson. “We want to keep our customers happy.” He said a pre-existing business relationship with the enterprise was not a prerequisite for these deployments, especially since many of the opportunities come to AT&T through third party neutral hosts like Dense Air Networks.

 

Wilson said most MOCNs AT&T is currently involved in are 4G, but should evolve to 5G. Coverage, not capacity, is the primary driver, he said, adding that these systems can use licensed spectrum, unlicensed spectrum (CBRS), or a mix of both.

 

MOCN does not typically require a capital outlay or ongoing operating expenditures from AT&T, Wilson said. “There is investment from a resource perspective,” he added. He said AT&T devotes resources to integration and to putting tools into place to monitor the MOCN performance carefully. “Even for free, if there is not good quality, then it’s a negative. We care a lot about those things, and obviously there is a cost to being able to monitor and maintain,” he said.

 

Wilson’s goal is to train AT&T’s MOCN muscle until the carrier can connect to these systems quickly and efficiently. “We want to get it so that it is cookie cutter,” he said. “It is a very interesting segment and I see the traction and momentum definitely building. … The industry has been waiting a long time.”