5G drives growth in rising private mobile network market

The use of dedicated mobile networks based on LTE or 5G technology is increasing, and the pace of 5G-based deployments is accelerating. These are the findings of a recent State of the Market report published by the Global Mobile Suppliers Association (GSA).

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The new Private Mobile Networks Market Status report found that at least 370 companies around the world are investing in private mobile networks based on LTE or 5G. The number includes "trial and pilot deployments, commercial network launches, or license investments to deploy private LTE or 5G networks," the report said.

Most companies use LTE for their private mobile network deployments. But 5G is on the rise. Specifically, 64% of use cases use LTE, down from 81% in October 2020. 44% of use cases are now deploying (or planning to deploy) 5G.

Why are you interested in LTE and 5G private wireless networks?

Private mobile networks based on LTE or 5G are a variation of private cellular networks. They are typically on-premises networks dedicated to enterprise use.

Many edge computing applications can benefit from the use of private LTE or 5G networks. Some reasons why enterprises choose to use private (LTE or 5G) networks include:

Lack of coverage in other ways: A given site may not be served by public cellular network services, or it may be too difficult to deploy a Wi-Fi solution at that site.

The need for low-latency transport: While many edge applications perform analytics on-device, in some cases data needs to be streamed to a more appropriate computing platform for analysis and derivation of real-time insights.

Data privacy and security: Some industries are subject to regulatory standards that require certain data to be protected. In some cases, the most practical approach is to transmit that data only over a private network.

Performance and control: Dedicated wireless networks allow companies to build analytical workflows to ensure that the appropriate bandwidth is available to meet the requirements of their specific applications.

The demand for dedicated mobile networks based on LTE or 5G technology is driven by the exploding data, security and digitalization needs of modern enterprises.

GSA data found that the manufacturing industry was an early adopter of wireless private network technology. It found 79 companies holding licenses, participating in pilots or deploying the technology. Adoption is happening quickly. There are now about 47% more companies meeting these criteria compared to the beginning of the year.

Drilling down into the manufacturing sector, the automotive sub-sector leads the way in private network investment and adoption. They account for more than a quarter (25.3%) of the 79 manufacturing companies identified.