According to GlobalData, Europe is leading the way in 5G and private networks, with the region making initial progress in the deployment of Industry 4.0 "smart factories". The company's latest Connected Enterprise Tracker shows that manufacturing accounts for almost a third of 5G and private network deployments, with most of the activity concentrated in Europe, which currently accounts for 56% of deployments. That should change, though, as North America and other regions also see growth.

To date, the tracker has deployed around 300 private 4G/5G networks, as well as dozens of enterprise IoT deployments utilizing public 5G networks. While market leader Nokia says it already offers more than 450 private networks, most of these deployments are not publicly disclosed and are therefore not included in the tracker. The same restrictions apply to other vendors, including leading network infrastructure vendors, system integrators, telecom service providers, and wireless technology specialists.

Private 5G Network

Private 4G and 5G networks are already largely used to support industrial verticals including manufacturing, transportation, mining and logistics. Connected and automated operations in these industries, supported by highly secure networks, can create new process efficiencies. Other verticals are also taking advantage of private networks. Government agencies account for 8 percent so far, with most supporting smart city use cases such as connecting street lights or "smart utility poles" for environmental monitoring and electric vehicle charging.

Service providers appear to be involved in a large number of deals in Europe, suggesting that the spectrum assets used for these deployments are not necessarily based on frequency bands for industrial use that have recently been made available by regulators, such as those in Germany and the UK. Instead, licensed operators typically offer dedicated frequency bands or network slices to meet the needs of these customers. Vodafone, DeutscheTelekom, Telefonica, BT, Orange, Swisscom, Tele2 and Telia are all deployed in a variety of ways, usually with Nokia, Ericsson or Huawei.

U.S. does not dominate vertical markets

In North America, educational institutions deploy more 5G and private network deployments than any other vertical (17%), although no vertical is dominant. The attractiveness of manufacturing, mining, transportation, utilities and energy is also evident. The CBRS (Citizens Broadband Radio Service) spectrum in the United States is cited for about one-third of these networks.

In addition to FederatedWireless, BoingoWireless and other CBRS specialists, key suppliers include AT&T and Verizon, system integrators and network providers. GlobalData's tracker does not break down private 4G and 5G, as many organizations are using both technologies or are on a migration path starting with 4G LTE. But in public statements, at least three-quarters of tracker private network deployments mentioned 5G.