Method of communicating between a first radio unit and a first distributed unit

Abstract

The present disclosure describes a method of communicating in an industrial facility between a first radio unit operating a wireless network and a first distributed unit. The method includes providing a dedicated wireless subnetwork associated with the first radio unit, receiving at least one data packet from a user equipment, wherein the at least one data packet is associated with one of a first user plane and a first control plane having the operating wireless network, and transmitting the at least one data packet to the first distributed unit via a second user plane of the dedicated wireless subnetwork. The dedicated wireless subnetwork includes a dedicated user equipment connected to the first radio unit and a dedicated base station including a dedicated radio unit connected to the dedicated user equipment. A configuration of the second user plane is different from a configuration of the first user plane.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to industrial wireless networks, and more particularly to connections between radio units of distributed base stations and distributed units in industrial facilities. Due to the characteristics of industrial applications, the associated communication infrastructure must be able to provide low-latency and high-data-rate connections. Background Technology

[0002] This disclosure relates to industrial wireless networks, and more particularly to distributed base stations in cellular networks for industrial automation. In industrial facilities, wireless communication networks are often needed to connect remote locations where cables or fiber optic cables may not be able to reach. Currently, such connections are achieved using various radio technologies.

[0003] For example, current wireless networks are based on fourth-generation mobile technology and can be replaced by 5G technology. 5G network deployment will use distributed base stations, and correspondingly, distributed units and central units will be used with multiple radio units. The radio units (also known as RUs) of the 5G network will be located in remote locations within industrial facilities and must be connected to 5G distributed units (DUs). The network connecting them needs to support the latency and data rates of the 5G fronthaul network (i.e., the network side between the distributed units and the radio units), which can exceed 10 Gbps and require end-to-end latency of less than 1 ms. Typically, this has been achieved using wired connections between the radio units and the distributed units. However, in remote locations where cables or fiber optics cannot reach, wired connections cannot be used to connect the radio units at these locations to the corresponding distributed units. Therefore, a method and device are needed to solve the aforementioned problems. Summary of the Invention

[0004] Therefore, this disclosure describes methods for solving the above problems, dedicated base stations, and dedicated subnetworks.

[0005] This disclosure describes a method for communication between a first radio unit and a first distributed unit operating a wireless network in an industrial facility. The method includes providing a dedicated wireless subnetwork associated with the first radio unit, receiving at least one data packet from a user equipment, wherein the at least one data packet is associated with one of a first user plane and a first control plane of the operating wireless network, and transmitting the at least one data packet to the first distributed unit via a second user plane of the dedicated wireless subnetwork. The dedicated wireless subnetwork includes dedicated user equipment connected to the first radio unit and a dedicated base station including the dedicated radio unit connected to the dedicated user equipment. Furthermore, the dedicated wireless subnetwork includes a second user plane and a second control plane, wherein the configuration of the second user plane differs from the configuration of the first user plane, and the configuration of the second control plane differs from the configuration of the first control plane.

[0006] Therefore, this disclosure describes the above-described method, in which a radio unit located at a remote location can be connected to a distributed unit via a dedicated wireless subnetwork. The subnetwork is based on a wireless cellular architecture already existing in industrial facilities; therefore, the resources of existing wireless networks can be used to create and operate the wireless subnetwork. Furthermore, since the dedicated subnetwork is dedicated to transmitting data packets from the radio unit to the distributed unit, the subnetwork can be configured for low-latency communication.

[0007] In one example, the dedicated user equipment is fixed at a predefined location near the first radio unit. Therefore, the dedicated user equipment can be connected to the first radio unit either wired or wirelessly.

[0008] In one example, the running wireless network includes a first network slice associated with a first user plane and a first control plane, and a second network slice associated with a second user plane and a second control plane. Therefore, by using two separate network slices, the configuration of the running network and the private subnetwork can be performed independently. Furthermore, custom network functions can be used by the private subnetwork to optimize the behavior of entities within the private subnetwork without affecting the running network.

[0009] In one example, the dedicated user equipment includes a first interface configured to map one or more protocols associated with a first user plane and a first control plane to one or more protocols of a second user plane. Therefore, the dedicated user equipment is configured to receive one or more data packets from a first radio device and encapsulate or tunnel the data packets on the second user plane of the dedicated subnetwork using the first interface to perform appropriate packet encapsulation and protocol conversion. In one example, the method further includes receiving at least one additional data packet from a first distributed unit via the dedicated radio subnetwork, the at least one additional data packet being associated with one of the first user plane and the first control plane.

[0010] In one example, a first network slice is configured to operate as a TSN bridge within a TSN network. This first network slice is configured to receive one or more requests associated with Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN) and translate those requests for a second network slice associated with a dedicated subnetwork. Therefore, the dedicated subnetwork can be configured according to TSN requirements to ensure appropriate latency and Quality of Service (QoS) between radio units and distributed units.

[0011] On the other hand, this disclosure describes a dedicated base station for connecting a first radio unit and a first distributed unit operating a wireless network in an industrial facility. The dedicated base station includes a dedicated radio unit capable of wirelessly connecting to a dedicated user equipment associated with the first radio unit; and a dedicated distributed unit communicatively connected to the dedicated radio unit and the first distributed unit. The dedicated base station is configured to perform one of the following: receiving one or more data packets from the first radio unit via a dedicated user equipment on a second user plane, and transmitting one or more data packets to the first radio unit, wherein the one or more data packets are associated with one of the first user plane and a first control plane.

[0012] In another aspect, this disclosure describes a dedicated wireless subnetwork for connecting a first radio unit and a first distributed unit operating a wireless network in an industrial facility. The dedicated wireless subnetwork includes: a dedicated user equipment (UFO) fixed at a predefined location near the first radio unit and communicatively coupled to the first radio unit; a dedicated base station including a dedicated radio unit capable of wirelessly connecting to the dedicated UFO associated with the first radio unit and a dedicated distributed unit communicatively connected to the dedicated radio unit and the first distributed unit; and a dedicated user plane for transmitting data packets between the dedicated UFO and the dedicated base station, wherein the dedicated user plane is configured to tunnel data packets associated with one of a first control plane and a first data plane, the first control plane and the first data plane being associated with the first radio unit and the first distributed unit. The advantages of this method are applicable to both dedicated base stations and dedicated wireless subnetworks. See further details. Figures 1-3 To explain. Detailed Implementation

[0013] Figure 1A wireless network 100 in an industrial facility is illustrated. Here, an industrial facility refers to any environment where one or more industrial processes (e.g., manufacturing, refining, smelting, or equipment assembly) can be performed. This includes processing plants, oil refineries, automobile factories, power plants, warehouses, etc. An industrial facility includes multiple industrial devices, including control devices, field devices, mobile devices, operator stations, etc. Control devices include process controllers, programmable logic controllers, supervisory controllers, automated guided vehicles (AGVs), robots, operator equipment, etc. One or more control devices are connected to multiple field devices (not shown), such as actuators and sensor devices for monitoring and controlling various industrial processes within the industrial facility. These field devices may include flow meters, numerical actuators, temperature sensors, pressure sensors, etc. Furthermore, the industrial facility includes multiple mobile devices, including one or more robots in the industrial facility for performing multiple operations (e.g., welding and parts assembly); one or more AGVs for transporting and handling materials; one or more assets with RFID tags on conveyor belts, etc. Additionally, the plant facility may include operator stations for displaying the status of the industrial facility to operators and allowing operators to define KPIs for controlling the industrial processes within the facility. All industrial equipment can be connected to each other via a factory network (achieved through wired and wireless technologies).

[0014] Communication in the aforementioned factory network is achieved through wired and wireless means or technologies. Therefore, the industrial facility includes a wireless network 100 for enabling communication between various devices within the industrial facility. The wireless network 100 is based on cellular technology and includes multiple gateway devices. Here, a gateway device refers to one or more network devices capable of connecting user equipment to the wireless network. Examples of gateway devices include base stations, routers, switches, repeaters, access points, etc. These multiple gateway devices may include multiple fixed gateway devices that can be fixed in multiple locations within the industrial facility. Multiple user devices in the facility connect to one or more industrial gateway devices to connect to the wireless network 100 and for information communication with other devices and systems within the industrial facility. Here, user equipment refers to industrial equipment capable of connecting to the wireless network via gateway devices. User equipment includes one or more industrial applications capable of processing data from other industrial equipment.

[0015] Such example gateway devices include, for example... Figure 1The distributed base station is shown. The distributed base station includes a radio unit 120 (also referred to as RU 120) and a distributed and central unit (130). Although the distributed unit and central unit are shown as a single device in the figure, they can also be implemented on two separate devices. The distributed base station is connected to the user plane function 140 of the wireless network for transmitting data packets from one or more user equipments (shown as user equipment 110) connected to the radio unit 120. The radio unit 120 is connected to the distributed and central unit 130 via a dedicated wireless subnetwork 105. The dedicated wireless subnetwork 105 is based on cellular technology and includes a dedicated base station 165, user equipment 115 (also referred to as dedicated user equipment 115), and user plane function 145. The dedicated wireless subnetwork can operate at microwave frequencies (e.g., 5G FR2 in the millimeter-wave band) and in the same sub-6GHz 5G band or in any other band used for utilities.

[0016] User equipment 115 is connected wired or wirelessly to radio unit 120 and configured to receive data packets from radio unit 120. User equipment 115 is then configured to wirelessly transmit these data packets to radio unit 125 of dedicated base station 165, for transmission via dedicated base station 165 and user plane function 145 to distributed and central unit 130. Dedicated user equipment 115 is fixed at a predefined location near the first radio unit. Therefore, the dedicated wireless subnetwork acts as a tunnel or bridge between radio unit 120 of the distributed base station operating network 100 and the distributed and central unit. Additionally, wireless network 100 includes a first network slice 150 (also called operational slice 150) and a second network slice 155 (also called link slice 155). Operational slice 150 is used to configure and control network devices of the wireless network, including the first user and control plane of the operating wireless network, and link slice 155 is used to configure and control network devices of the dedicated wireless subnetwork 105, including the second user and control plane of wireless subnetwork 105. Therefore, compared to running slices, link slice 155 can have different network characteristics to enable the dedicated wireless subnetwork 105 to function appropriately as a tunnel or channel between radio unit 120 and distributed and central units 130. This aspect and other aspects of the dedicated wireless subnetwork 105 are described below. Figure 2 The explanation will be provided in the description.

[0017] Figure 2A method 200 is shown for an industrial facility to communicate between a radio unit 120 (also referred to as a first radio unit 120) of a wireless network 100 (also referred to as operating the wireless network 100) and a distributed unit 130 (also referred to as a first distributed unit 130). In one example, method 200 is performed by the radio unit 120 of a distributed base station operating the wireless network 100.

[0018] In step 210, a dedicated wireless subnetwork 105 associated with the first radio unit 120 is provided. While the dedicated wireless subnetwork 105 is associated with the first radio unit 120, it may also be associated with additional radio units operating the wireless network 100. As previously mentioned, the dedicated wireless subnetwork 105 includes a dedicated user equipment 115 connected to the first radio unit 120. The user equipment 115 is connected to the first radio unit via wired or wireless means. In one example, the user equipment 115 is connected via an Ethernet-based connection or via a short-range wireless connection. The user equipment 115 is capable of connecting to the dedicated radio unit 125 of the base station 165. The user equipment 115 behaves differently from the user equipment (e.g., user equipment 110) operating the wireless network 100 because it is fixed in a predefined location and permanently connected to the radio unit 125, rather than switching from one radio unit to another. Similarly, the radio unit 125 behaves differently from the radio units operating the wireless network 100 (e.g., the first radio unit 120). In step 220, the first radio unit 120 receives at least one data packet from the user equipment 110. The at least one data packet is associated with either a first user plane or a first control plane of the operating wireless network 100. Here, the user plane refers to one or more protocols or protocol stacks on the network devices, related to data transmission. The control plane refers to protocols or protocol stacks on the network devices, related to network connection establishment, interface network management, mobility management, etc. Accordingly, the at least one data packet includes data to be transmitted or configuration-related data associated with the network devices operating the network 100.

[0019] In one example, at least one data packet is generated by an industrial application running on user equipment 110 and is correspondingly transmitted to a first radio unit 120 via a first user plane associated with the operating wireless network 100. Then, in step 230, the first radio unit 120 transmits the at least one data packet to a first distributed unit (130) via the user plane of a dedicated wireless subnetwork 105. This transmission is performed via user equipment 115, a dedicated base station 165 of the dedicated wireless subnetwork 105, and user plane function 145. Thus, upon receiving at least one data packet, the first radio unit 120 transmits the at least one data packet to user equipment 115. User equipment 115 then transmits the at least one data packet to radio unit 125 of the dedicated base station 165, which in turn transmits the at least one data packet to user plane function 145. This transmission occurs on a second user plane of the dedicated wireless subnetwork 105. When at least one data packet is received at radio unit 125, radio unit 125 transmits the at least one data packet to the distributed and central unit 135 of dedicated base station 165, which in turn transmits the data packet to the user plane function 145 of dedicated wireless subnetwork 105. Finally, the at least one data packet is transmitted via user plane function 145 to the first distributed unit 130. Thus, at least one data packet is transmitted from radio unit 120 to the first distributed unit 130.

[0020] As previously mentioned, to ensure low latency and high reliability in the aforementioned transmissions, the elements of the dedicated wireless subnetwork 105 are subsequently appropriately configured to act as a bridge between the first radio unit 120 and the first distributed unit 130. Therefore, the configuration of the second user plane of the dedicated wireless subnetwork 105 differs from the configuration of the first user plane of the operating wireless network 100, and the configuration of the second control plane of the dedicated wireless subnetwork 105 differs from the configuration of the first control plane of the operating wireless network 100. This is further illustrated below by example.

[0021] In the first example, the dedicated radio subnetwork 105 has a static configuration to provide optimal performance, namely, ultra-low latency for transmitting data packets between the first radio unit 120 and the first distributed unit 130. Therefore, for this low latency, user equipment 115 is configured such that user equipment 115 authenticates itself only once to radio unit 125, and then user equipment 115 remains in an always-on state (i.e., in an "always-connected state"). This allows user equipment 115 and radio unit 125 to establish fast calls with very low latency. This is achieved through the configuration of the second data and second control planes of the dedicated radio subnetwork. Furthermore, the dedicated radio subnetwork 105 has a fixed configuration to ensure the lowest possible latency. Therefore, the devices in the dedicated radio subnetwork 105 use the possible subcarrier spacing (the highest set of parameters in 5G) and utilize self-containment and minimum time slots according to the 3GPP specification. In another example, the behavior of the dedicated radio subnetwork 105 is dynamic, and resources are allocated upon receiving each request with a corresponding QoS from user equipment 115. The method in the example is implemented when different service levels of transmission are required. This is performed using a specific function that requests a QoS level using a conversion of service level. Link slice 155 allocates the necessary resources based on this request.

[0022] In one example, dedicated user equipment 115 includes a first interface configured to map one or more protocols associated with a first user plane and a first control plane to one or more protocols of a second user plane. Typically, different fronthaul protocols may be used between RU 120 and DU 130, depending on the logical splitting options for the protocol stack, such as eCPRI or nFAPI. Therefore, the UE or user equipment 115 includes an interface capable of encapsulating a fronthaul protocol (e.g., eCPRI) used between RU 120 and DU 130 operating network 100 into an IP protocol (or standard 5G protocol) for communication within radio subnetwork 105. Similarly, UPF 145 of subnetwork 105 includes an interface (also called an interface function) that extracts the fronthaul protocol from the IP transport layer for subnetwork 105 and passes the corresponding data packets (e.g., eCPRI) to DU 130. The encapsulation of the fronthaul protocol is performed in reverse order when data packets are sent from DU 130 to RU 120 in the downlink. The fronthaul protocol encapsulates the UPF 145 of subnet 105 into the IP layer of the data packets transmitted on wireless subnet 105, and then decapsulates them by the first interface of user equipment 115 to pass the eCPRI data packets to RU 120.

[0023] Those skilled in the art should note that although the above method is explained with regard to transmission from radio unit 120 to distributed unit 130, it is understood that the above method and dedicated subnetwork can also be used for transmission of data packets from distributed unit to radio unit. The dedicated subnetwork can be used for bidirectional communication.

[0024] Therefore, this disclosure solves the transmission problem between remote radio units and distributed units operating a wireless network by introducing a dedicated wireless subnetwork based on the same technology and architecture as the operating wireless network, and thus using the same core network. Therefore, the dedicated wireless subnetwork can be viewed as a nested subnetwork acting as a bridge between one or more network devices operating the wireless network. In one example, the operating wireless network is used as a virtual TSN bridge in a TSN network. This is in Figure 3 This is further illustrated in the text.

[0025] Figure 3 A wireless network acting as a virtual TSN bridge between two TSN stations 310 and 320 is illustrated. The wireless network is based on the wireless network 100 as previously described. In addition to the aforementioned components or devices, the TSN network includes a TSN controller 335, which is responsible for timing synchronization and traffic scheduling associated with TSN stations 310 and 320. Similarly, the TSN network includes a TSN bridge 330 for connecting TSN station 310 to the wireless network. Communication between TSN stations 310 and 320 is conducted via the wireless network, specifically via user equipment 110, distributed unit 130, and UPF 140. Therefore, TSN communication is conducted via a dedicated wireless subnetwork 105. Thus, to ensure TSN communication complies with TSN requirements, the TSN controller 335, the operational slice 150, and the link slice 155 cooperate during the configuration of the link slice 155. All TSN-related control information for establishing communication flows between TSN stations 310 and 320 is sent from the TSN controller 335 to the operational slice 150. A new interoperability function called TSN_IWF (not shown) is introduced between the two core network slices 150 and 155. TSN_IWF translates TSN flow requirements from operating slice 150 to link slice 155 to ensure that communication flows (or tunnels) established in the dedicated radio subnetwork 105 meet the required Quality of Service associated with TSN stations 310 and 320. In this way, the dedicated subnetwork is configured to support the requirements of the TSN network. Furthermore, the mapping between user equipment in dedicated subnetwork 105 and radio units operating the radio subnetwork is maintained by operating slice 150, and this mapping information, along with latency requirements, priority categories, and QoS from the TSN controller 335, is used by TSN_IWF.

[0026] Therefore, this disclosure describes a dedicated wireless subnetwork for connecting wireless remote radio units operating a wireless network to corresponding distributed units using the same network technologies and network core as the operating wireless network. Thus, the high-performance requirements of the operating wireless network are met by using a dedicated wireless subnetwork based on the same underlying technology. This allows for a cost-effective way to provide connectivity between radio units and distributed units, as industrial facility owners can leverage existing network cores operating the wireless network.

[0027] On the other hand, this disclosure describes a dedicated base station 105 for connecting a first radio unit 120 and a first distributed unit 130 operating a wireless network 100 in an industrial facility. The dedicated base station 105 includes: a dedicated radio unit 125 capable of wirelessly connecting to a dedicated user equipment 115 associated with the first radio unit 120; and a dedicated distributed unit 135 communicatively connected to the dedicated radio unit 125 and the first distributed unit 130. The dedicated base station 105 is configured to perform one of the following: receive one or more data packets from the first radio unit 120 via the dedicated user equipment 115 on a second user plane, and transmit one or more data packets to the first radio unit 120, wherein the one or more data packets are associated with one of the first user plane and the first control plane.

[0028] Those skilled in the art will recognize that the aforementioned network devices and functions (i.e., user equipment 110 and 115, radio units 120 and 125, distributed units 130 and 165, user plane functions 140 and 145, and network slices 150 and 155) can be implemented as stand-alone hardware devices or software within devices. Therefore, the functions of the network devices can be implemented using a computer program product comprising program modules accessible from a computer-usable or computer-readable medium storing program code used or associated with one or more computers, processing units, or instruction execution systems. For the purposes of this specification, the computer-usable or computer-readable non-transitory storage medium can be any means that can contain, store, communicate, propagate, or transmit programs for use or association with an instruction execution system, means, or device. The medium can be an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system (or device or equipment) or a propagation medium. In itself, it is not included as a signal carrier in the definition of a physical computer-readable medium, which includes semiconductor or solid-state memory, magnetic tape, removable computer disks, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), hard disks, and optical disks (such as CD-ROMs, optical disk readers / writers, and DVDs). As is known to those skilled in the art, the processing units and program code used to implement various aspects of this technology can be centralized or distributed (or a combination thereof).

[0029] Although this disclosure refers to a few industrial devices, multiple industrial devices can be used within the context of this invention. Furthermore, while this disclosure uses a single subnetwork for explanation, multiple subnetworks can be used in an operational network. Similarly, although this disclosure describes a single radio unit connected to a distributed unit via a wireless subnetwork 105, a wireless subnetwork can be used to connect multiple radio units to multiple distributed units. In such a scenario, the user plane of the wireless subnetwork can be appropriately configured to ensure that data packets are transmitted according to the QoS associated with the radio unit to which the data packet is attached. Moreover, although this invention is explained using data packets, other such data blocks, such as datagrams and data frames, can also be used to implement this invention.

[0030] While this disclosure has been described in detail with reference to certain examples, it should be understood that this disclosure is not limited to these examples. Based on this disclosure, many modifications and variations will emerge for those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the different examples of this disclosure, as described herein. All advantageous embodiments claimed in the method claims may also be applied to the system / apparatus claims.

Claims

1. A method (200) for communication between a first radio unit (120) and a first distributed unit (130) of an operating wireless network (100) in an industrial facility, the method (200) comprising: a. Provide a dedicated wireless subnetwork (105) associated with the first radio unit (120), the dedicated wireless subnetwork (105) including a dedicated user equipment (115) connected to the first radio unit (120), a dedicated radio unit (125) of a dedicated base station (165) connected to the dedicated user equipment (115), and a dedicated distributed unit (135) connected to the dedicated radio unit (125) and the first distributed unit (130). b. The first radio unit (120) receives at least one data packet from the user equipment (110), wherein the at least one data packet is associated with one of the first user plane and the first control plane of the operating wireless network (100); and c. The first radio unit (120) transmits the at least one data packet to the first distributed unit (130) via the second user plane of the dedicated wireless subnetwork (105). The dedicated wireless subnetwork (105) includes a second user plane and a second control plane, wherein the configuration of the second user plane is different from the configuration of the first user plane, and the configuration of the second control plane is different from the configuration of the first control plane. The dedicated wireless subnetwork (105) also includes a user plane function (145) for connecting the first distributed unit (130) to the dedicated distributed unit (135).

2. The method (200) according to claim 1, wherein, The dedicated user equipment (115) is fixed at a predefined location near the first radio unit (120).

3. The method (200) according to claim 1, wherein, The operating wireless network (100) includes a first network slice (150) associated with the first user plane and the first control plane, and a second network slice (155) associated with the second user plane and the second control plane.

4. The method (200) according to claim 1, wherein, The dedicated user equipment (115) includes a first interface configured to map one or more protocols associated with the first user plane and the first control plane to one or more protocols of the second user plane.

5. The method (200) according to claim 1, wherein, The method (200) further includes: receiving at least one additional data packet from the first distributed unit (130) via the dedicated wireless subnetwork (105) by the first radio unit (120), the at least one additional data packet being associated with one of the first user plane and the first control plane.

6. The method (200) according to claim 3, wherein, The first network slice (150) is configured to operate as a TSN bridge in a TSN network, and wherein the first network slice (150) is configured to receive one or more requests associated with a Time Sensitive Network (TSN) and translate the one or more requests for the second network slice (155).

7. A dedicated base station (165) for connecting a first radio unit (120) and a first distributed unit (130) operating a wireless network (100) in an industrial facility, the dedicated base station (165) comprising: a. A dedicated radio unit (125) capable of wirelessly connecting to a dedicated user equipment (115) associated with the first radio unit (120). as well as b. A dedicated distributed unit (135) communicatively connected to the dedicated radio unit (125) and connected to the first distributed unit (130) via a user plane function (145). The dedicated base station (165) is configured to perform one of the following: receive one or more data packets from the first radio unit (120), and transmit one or more data packets to the first radio unit (120) via the dedicated user equipment (115) on a second user plane, wherein the one or more data packets are associated with one of the first user plane and the first control plane, which are associated with the first radio unit.

8. A dedicated wireless subnetwork (105) for connecting a first radio unit (120) and a first distributed unit (130) operating a wireless network (100) in an industrial facility using a dedicated base station (165) according to claim 7, the dedicated wireless subnetwork (105) comprising: a. A dedicated user equipment (115) communicatively coupled to the first radio unit (120) and communicatively coupled to the dedicated base station (165). b. The user plane function (145) is capable of connecting to the dedicated distributed unit (135) of the dedicated base station (165) and the first distributed unit (130). as well as c. A dedicated user plane for transmitting data packets between the dedicated user equipment (115) and the dedicated base station (165), wherein the dedicated user plane is configured to tunnel data packets associated with one of a first control plane and a first user plane, the first control plane and the first user plane being associated with the first radio unit (120) and the first distributed unit (130).

9. The dedicated wireless subnetwork according to claim 8, wherein, The dedicated user equipment (115) includes a first interface configured to map one or more protocols associated with the first user plane and the first control plane to one or more protocols of the dedicated user plane.

10. The dedicated wireless subnetwork according to claim 8, further comprising: A sub-network slice for controlling the dedicated user equipment (115) and the dedicated base station (165), the sub-network slice being communicatively coupled to a first network slice (150) associated with the first radio unit (120) and the first distributed unit (130).

11. The dedicated wireless subnetwork according to claim 10, wherein, The first network slice (150) is configured to operate as a TSN bridge in a TSN network, and wherein the first network slice (150) is configured to receive one or more requests associated with Time Sensitive Networking (TSN) and to translate the one or more requests for the sub-network slice.

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