Beyond Celona’s AerFlex and MosoLabs’ Chorus: The Innovation Enterprises Need Is in Commercial Offerings, Not Claims of "Firsts"

In August 2025, Celona introduced AerFlex, a cloud-based core network that moves private 5G control functions into the cloud, while relying solely on Access Points (APs) at the edge. The company positioned AerFlex as an industry first, designed to simplify and scale enterprise deployments. Soon after, MosoLabs and its partner Ataya disputed the claim, pointing to their Chorus platform, which was launched in January 2024 and made commercially available in May 2025, as already delivering a cloud-controlled, AP-only architecture.

While both Celona’s AerFlex and MosoLabs’s and Ataya’s Chorus platform both aim to simplify enterprise private cellular deployments by eliminating the need for on-premises servers, there are important differences in how the solutions deliver on this vision: Chorus embeds a full 5G Standalone (SA) core inside each AP and is optimized for Small and Medium Business (SMB) and Managed Service Provider (MSP) use cases, while AerFlex splits functions between AP and cloud, adds optional edge processing, and is geared toward larger, industrial, and Artificial Intelligence (AI)-driven deployments. AerFlex also emphasizes enterprise-grade security and a vertically integrated management model, whereas Chorus leans on simplicity and multi-tenant MSP support.

Aside from these revitalizing effects on the private cellular market landscape, it is important to look at the technology element of this innovation to assess its effect. A cloud-controlled, AP-only model that reduces on-premises hardware certainly simplifies private 5G deployment. For enterprises, this lowers cost and complexity, while aligning private cellular with the cloud-managed Wi-Fi models they already know. Strategically, it shifts attention from hardware toward orchestration and cloud platforms. This will be particularly interesting for office-based, sometimes referred to as “carpeted,” enterprises, that are exploring private 5G for Information Technology (IT) applications. In these circumstances, integration into existing IT infrastructure is important—and a cloud-based deployment will ease deployments here. While this sounds compelling, it should be noted that ABI Research expects these office-based enterprises to account for less than 10% of private cellular revenue by 2030 (according to the latest Private Cellular Network Forecasts market data (MD-PCRN-24)).

However, for enterprises in the Operational Technology (OT) world (like manufacturing, oil & gas/energy generation, logistics), such innovations are often secondary to more practical considerations. Fundamental for this is the realization that industrial enterprises are investing in connectivity technologies as an enabler for applications that solve their most pressing pain points. Consequently, the interest in technology specifications of said connectivity solutions is relatively slim and only relevant insofar as they can be clearly linked to measurable business outcome. Frequent discussions with industrial enterprises identify that connectivity investments are driven primarily by the need to increase operational efficiency & react to cost pressures, adjust production capabilities rapidly to react to supply chain volatilities, address workforce & skills challenges, increase quality of operations & compliance, and improve sustainability & decrease energy consumption.

Financial and operational concerns weigh heavily, too. Enterprises often judge solutions by Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) (i.e., Capital Expenditure (CAPEX) & Operational Expenditure (OPEX) and licensing), the complexity of day-to-day management, and whether their internal teams have the skills to operate a telco-grade network without depending excessively on external specialists. In that context, whether a network is marketed as “AP-only” or “cloud-controlled” may improve deployment convenience, but it is unlikely to outweigh these more fundamental drivers of adoption.

To make private cellular more compelling for these industrial enterprises, vendors need to move away from abstract architectural claims and instead tie their innovations directly to measurable business outcomes. A practical first step is to reframe offerings around guaranteed results, rather than features. Instead of highlighting whether a solution is “AP-only” or “cloud-controlled,” vendors should commit to concrete service levels that enterprises can trust—such as guaranteed coverage across a defined square footage, sub-10 Millisecond (ms) latency for automation systems, or 99.99% uptime for critical operations. Embedding real-time monitoring tools that let enterprises verify these promises would shift accountability onto vendors and turn private 5G into a predictable service, rather than a speculative technology choice.

Equally important is ensuring that private cellular becomes visible and useful within the applications that enterprises already rely on every day. New management portals or standalone dashboards add friction, while integrations into familiar environments—like surfacing network health data in a manufacturing execution system, or device connectivity status in a warehouse logistics platform—make private 5G feel immediately relevant. To achieve this, vendors should invest in pre-built connectors and reference integrations with common enterprise software, ideally through partnerships with leading Independent Software Vendors (ISVs). Vendors like Ericsson and Nokia have already begun this journey (Ericsson with its NetCloud platform & Ericsson Private 5G Compact offering, Nokia with its Digital Automation Cloud (DAC) and MXIE platform), but more needs to be done. Positioning the network as a platform and inviting partners to build applications on top remains a powerful and promising strategy. Nonetheless, infrastructure vendors’ channel partners often refer to missing OT applications on these platforms when being asked about the timid commercial traction and uptake. This leads to service providers and System Integrators (SIs) developing their own (sometimes even conflicting) private cellular and AI use case/application platforms, while utilizing the private cellular infrastructure bundles that vendors offer.

Finally, adoption will accelerate when vendors package their solutions into vertical-specific playbooks that demonstrate both technical design and financial value. These playbooks should include network blueprints, recommended devices, and integration templates tailored to industries like manufacturing, logistics, or energy, supported by Return on Investment (ROI) models drawn from real deployments. An anonymized case study showing, for instance, reduced downtime in a factory or improved safety compliance in an oil field will resonate far more strongly than generic 5G claims. By presenting private cellular as a ready-to-deploy, outcome-backed solution with proven business impact, vendors can bridge the gap between technical innovation and enterprise decision-making.