nRF9160 Private APN

[chahn-ds]

Hi,

I'm supporting a customer who is planning to use T-Mobile as their carrier.  One of T-Mobile's questions is: 

APN requirements: Private APN requires an IPSec VPN or MPLS implementation.  

Given these requirements, would it be possible for the nRF9160 to use a private APN on T-Mobile?  I'm assuming this is something that would have to already be implemented in the cellular firmware.  Is this available?

Thanks for the help,

Chris

[Charlie]

Hi Chris,

Yes, you can refer to some former discussions related to APN:

https://devzone.nordicsemi.com/f/nordic-q-a/84649/how-do-i-set-apn-in-udp-sample-on-nrf9160/352605#352605

Best regards,

Charlie

[chahn-ds]

Hi Charlie,

This only describes how to set the APN which is a separate issue.  I wanted to know if IPSec VPN or MPLS implementation is available to support the T-Mobile private APN.

Thanks,

Chris

[Charlie]

Hi Chris,

The picture from M2M data on How a Private APN Works properly demonstrates the theory and positions of MPLS/APN/IPSec VPN. They are handled by your operator's core network. There is no special requirement on your device side. Private APN has no difference in configurations compared with public APN.

Best regards,

Charlie

[chahn-ds]

Thanks Charlie,

Based on your answer it sounds like I misunderstood the T-Mobile question.  The IPSec VPN or MPLS implementation is a requirement on T-Mobile's side and they just included it as a comment rather than a requirement for our customer's device.  Is that correct? 

This is a confusing comment because the use of a IPSec VPN tunnel requires some kind of implementation on each side of the tunnel.  Otherwise the two sides can't understand each other.  I would have thought that one endpoint of the tunnel is the cell tower and the other endpoint is the cellular device (the nRF9160).  I suppose this is not correct?

Thanks again,      

Chris

[Charlie]

Hi Chris,

I have never got similar questions like this before. Please double-check with T-Mobile and get to test Private APN with them to get a better understanding of the setup.

You can check with us again if there are any specific issues on the device side. 

Best regards,

Charlie

[chahn-ds]

Hi Charlie,  

I have had some further conversations with other Nordic engineers and it looks like all the private APN tunneling is happening on the network operator side.  I don't have to concern myself with IPSec VPN or MPLS implementation.  You can close this ticket now.

Thanks for your help,

Chris

[Charlie]

Hi Chris,

Good to hear! Thanks for the update.

Best regards,

Charlie