It may take a while for 5G to become the most adopted technology by enterprises in the coming decade, but 5G networks are sure to transform a disconnected world by laying the foundation for a truly connected experience. In today's era, more than ever, people need easy access to data anytime, anywhere. This doesn’t just apply to personal life, but with remote working and corporate employees spread everywhere, seamless and uninterrupted 5G connectivity has become the need of the hour.

In order to achieve this level of continuous workflow, many enterprises are technologically moving towards machine learning, big data, cloud, Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, and these potentials can only be realized through 5G technology. The demand for this high-quality, ubiquitous connectivity is reaching its peak.

Private 5G networks are the undisputed answer to this peak demand and will be a game changer for industries such as healthcare, utilities, logistics, retail, public transportation, manufacturing, retail and more. 5G networks will be truly transformational both operationally and strategically by giving employees easy access to the tools they need while on the road or working from home or in the field.

Thanks to 5G technology, things that can only be imagined or seen in science fiction movies will become a reality, such as self-driving cars, robotic surgeries, drone deliveries, and smart factories. Without data, businesses stagnate, and these technological advances will change how data is organized, analyzed and used in the future. From operational activities to employee empowerment, to service delivery, revolutionizing customer interactions, to data analytics and insights to make beneficial and sustainable decisions, dedicated 5G will help make it all possible.

What are the overall advantages of dedicated 5G?

First, let's understand how private 5G networks differ from public 5G. Private 5G networks offer businesses enhanced personalization and complete control over their connections, along with the regular benefits of 5G such as low latency, greater coverage and higher bandwidth. This enables business leaders to run a unified network strategy across the enterprise.

Like Wi-Fi, private 5G networks require small local cell towers to provide Internet access points. This is ideal for large manufacturing units, logistics warehouses and other private establishments, who can install their own 5G network to provide 5G connectivity locally.

Private 5G networks offer tight security because they do not need to be connected to a larger telecommunications network. This makes private 5G very profitable for businesses that require a high level of security, such as power plants and military manufacturing.

Private 5G networks are highly customizable and are built to the exact specifications that businesses need. When people opt for public 5G, they can only choose from options offered by telcos, and then manage and analyze the data internally.

Businesses can always only benefit from enhanced connectivity, such as the shift from 4G to 5G. But better connectivity has many facets, such as improved responsiveness and the ease of adding additional devices and sensors. With private 5G networks, reliability, security, end-to-end control and customization add an ad-hoc dimension.

Private 5G networks are proven to be more cost-effective, faster to install, easier to set up, and offer greater reliability and security because businesses don't need expensive cabling and labor to install it.

Remote workers stay connected across multiple sites through a range of software-defined solutions, IoT and enterprise mobile applications that generate massive amounts of data every day. With private 5G networks, businesses can securely collect, store, analyze and deliver actionable insights for sustainable future growth. Dedicated 5G not only provides device accessibility and security, but also powers the power and performance required for these resource-intensive IoT and big data projects.

Global LTE/5G dedicated infrastructure equipment revenue is expected to increase from $945 million to $5.7 billion in 2024 within five years.

How can businesses leverage private 5G networks to their true potential?

Private 5G networks help enterprises harness the potential of predictive analytics, IoT, artificial intelligence, machine learning, virtual reality and other software-driven technologies.

Private 5G networks will enable emerging promising technologies to reach their full potential with the speed and low latency 5G offers.

For example, manufacturing will operate through smart factories, powering everything from ubiquitous IoT sensors to mobile robots, upending manufacturing models used since the days of Henry Ford and rendering them redundant.

Instead of parts moving on conveyor belts, smart factories will have intelligent robots doing all the work throughout the manufacturing plant. At the same time, clusters of IoT endpoints generate vast amounts of data, improving productivity, inventory tracking, safety and sustainability. This shift is not limited to this industry and will be witnessed in retail, healthcare, logistics and other industries.

Private 5G networks will revolutionize business

Innovation reaches new heights every time bandwidth and speed increase. Carrying an e-mail device in your pocket was unimaginable before the introduction of 2G. With the introduction of 4G, we saw the advent of the wireless generation.

Examples of various industries using dedicated 5G

In extremely complex networks such as hospitals or military installations, 4 million objects can be connected per square mile. Once the latency is lowered, shortcomings and deficiencies can be addressed very quickly.

Dedicated 5G networks in the medical industry

Healthcare is probably the fastest-growing industry requiring private networks, especially in the wake of COVID-19 putting greater pressure on countries’ existing healthcare infrastructure. The unprecedented spread of COVID-19 has created a sudden need for intensive care beds, and countries around the world are trying to respond by modernizing facilities and building new infrastructure. This unforeseen increase in demand has further created the need for enhanced connectivity to create new healthcare facilities as well as maintain existing ones, resulting in hospitals deploying private networks.

The potential to advance healthcare by collecting vast amounts of data and using it in conjunction with artificial intelligence is immeasurable. Healthcare trends and irregularities that would otherwise go unnoticed can be brought to light and dramatically improve patient care.

Private 5G networks in smart facilities

Private 5G networks drive digital transformation by providing better mobile connectivity to make facilities smarter, and make sense to deploy in stadiums, airports and office buildings. Switching to private 5G networks will improve personal lives, but there will be knock-on effects, from upgraded connectivity to better indoor networks to fast, secure deployment of advanced IT solutions. Upgrading to private 5G networks will go a step further, enabling these smart facilities to move to low-latency and bandwidth-intensive services such as real-time analytics and high-definition video streaming.

Logistics dedicated 5G network

The logistics industry is another area that has huge potential after moving to private 5G networks. As e-commerce penetration continues to increase, all logistics checkpoints from first-mile pickup to last-mile delivery and back to pickup need to be tracked and analyzed.

Supply chain elements such as warehouses, ports, and distribution centers often have a constant flow of goods that need to be tracked and connected across multiple enterprise mobile devices. For years, the industry has focused on automating multiple logistics functions using remote workforce devices and robots that require high connectivity. Therefore, if enterprises such as logistics are seeking advanced digital transformation, the benefits brought by 5G are unmatched and imperative.

Dedicated 5G network for manufacturing industry

Manufacturing plants have a variety of wired and wireless infrastructure. Private 5G networks can play a vital role in increasing the concentration and performance of automation technologies such as robots and self-driving vehicles in factories. Currently, the potential of robots is limited due to poor Wi-Fi and connectivity, which limits their movement and causes lags in real-time data transmission. Deploying private 5G networks will increase agility and productivity, improve response times and store sensitive data internally.

Private 5G networks will enable enterprises to track consumer behavior, customize marketing plans, provide better service and delivery, achieve operational efficiencies, support employees with seamlessly connected devices and accessibility, and ultimately provide enterprises with predictive analytics and Better decisions lay the foundation for a sustainable and profitable future.

Dedicated 5G can eliminate many of the loopholes and shortcomings that prevent businesses from reaching their full potential. Low latency, security, and high speeds are some of the benefits 5G brings to businesses, but there are many more unknown and unimaginable benefits with the help of private 5G networks.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is 5GNR?

5G generally refers to the fifth generation of wireless technology. NR, often referred to as New Radio, is a standard developed by the 3GPP group (Release 15 was the first version launched in 2018) that outlines the technology needed to take advantage of newly available millimeter wave frequencies. The two frequency bands in which 5G NR works are frequency range 1, which is the Sub6GHz band (410MHz to 7125MHz), and frequency range 2, which is millimeter wave (24.25 to 52.6GHz). Compared to 4GLTE, 5G NR offers better spectrum utilization, faster data rates, hardware efficiency, and improved signal processing.

From a deployment standpoint, we have Non-Standalone mode (NSA), Dynamic Spectrum Sharing (DSS) and Standalone mode (SA). The initial deployment of 5G NR is based on NSA standards, which means that the existing 4GLTE network will operate on the control plane, while 5G NR will introduce the user plane. This particular standard was introduced by 3GPP in consideration of the industry's push for faster 5G service rollouts while leveraging existing 4G LTE infrastructure. On the other hand, operators are also implementing Dynamic Spectrum Sharing (DSS) to speed up deployment cycles, reduce costs and improve spectrum utilization. In this standard, 5G NR and 4GLTE share the same spectrum, which is multiplexed over time according to user needs. Finally, we have Standalone Mode (SA), which is moving towards a full 5G-based network, where both signaling and information transfer are driven by 5G cells.

In the future, 5G will enable new services, connect new industries and devices, empower new experiences, etc., and provide mission-critical services, enhanced mobile broadband, etc.

• Enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) applications: high device connectivity, high mobile data rates, and mobile AR and VR applications
• Ultra-reliable, low-latency communications (uRLLC) applications: autonomous vehicles, drones, data monitoring, smart manufacturing.
• Massive machine type communications (mMTC) applications: healthcare, industry 4.0, logistics, environmental monitoring, smart agriculture, smart grid

What is WiFi?

In short, WiFi is a technology that uses radio waves to create a wireless network through which devices such as mobile phones, computers, printers, etc. connect to the Internet. A wireless router is required to establish a WiFi hotspot that people nearby can use to access internet services.

On a more technical note, WiFi works by enabling a wireless local area network, or WLAN, that allows devices connected to it to exchange signals with the Internet through a router. The frequency of these signals is 2.4GHz or 5GHz bandwidth. These frequencies are much higher than those transmitted by radios, cell phones and TVs because WiFi signals need to carry a lot of data. The networking standard is a variant of 802.11, of which there are varieties 802.11a, 802.11b, 801.11G, etc.