Global enterprise spending on private networks is predicted to increase from $1 billion in 2023 to nearly $10 billion by 2028. The global private network market value will rise from $1 billion to $10 billion in 2023.

The three verticals driving the market are:

• Manufacturing: 35%
• Energy: 20%
• Public Services: 16%

Adoption of Industry 4.0 and 5.0 best practices requires a smoother coordination between automated processes and equipment, thus requiring advanced orchestration through software-defined networking. This level of complexity means that manufacturing will be a key use case for faster adoption of private networks to support high device density operations and ultra-low latency operations.

For businesses looking to deploy a private wireless network, flexibility, security, and ease of deployment are essential. Most mobile devices either support cellular networks or can connect to a cellular gateway via Wi-Fi. Additionally, many IoT devices, including sensors, can use cellular-based low-power wireless services such as NB-IoT or LTE-M.

In addition, the arrival of embedded SIM (eSIM) has facilitated the deployment of many devices. Businesses can now provision new connections without physically accessing computers and sending secure data and updates across the network.

Cellular technology provides closed networks that enterprises can fully manage. For any cellular connection to access a private network, authorization must be obtained from the network operator.

A private network leverages a business's own infrastructure and works with existing Wi-Fi to provide a reliable, low-latency network for critical devices. Additionally, such networks offer alternative technological advancements such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or Ethernet. Businesses may benefit from private networks that offer customers lower latency, increased control, reliability and a more customized experience.

Private network can use both 4G-LTE and 5G radios

LTE (4G) private networks emerged with the decline of 3G, and they are widely adopted around the world in areas where Wi-Fi connectivity is insufficient. Despite the advent of 5G, LTE networks remain the most popular and dominant technology for networks used by businesses and enterprises.

5G private networks serve as an alternative to Wi-Fi, providing cellular connectivity for private network use cases. The higher cost of 5G relative to LTE has deterred some businesses from upgrading to this new radio because of the higher 5G speeds. To make 5G networks more accessible, network operators need to lower the prices of 5G services and 5G-compatible devices to incentivize more customers to migrate from LTE to 5G networks.

While LTE provides most of the functions that private industrial networks need to function properly, upgrading to 5G opens the way to the future and offers better connectivity and new services.

LTE services such as NB-IoT and LTE-M are part of a separate specification for 5G. In addition, 5G Advanced will be launched next year, which can reduce power consumption, enable network slicing, and support critical IoT services with higher bandwidth and ultra-low latency.

As a result, existing equipment can continue to be used while new equipment can take advantage of the new radio while upgrading to a 5G private network.

As the industry moves towards more industrial and enterprise services with new capabilities such as 5GAdvanced, Wi-Fi7, and virtual and augmented reality, the need for more customized network deployments will continue to grow. Today, many players are ready for a piece of the infrastructure and software pie.