What is the significance of the 5G millimeter wave private network license?

A few days ago, some media reported that the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology is about to issue the second batch of millimeter wave private network frequency license licenses to several companies in our country. This has attracted widespread attention from the industry.

In today's article, Xiao Zaojun plans to give you an in-depth interpretation.

What is a 5G mmWave Private Network License?

The 5G millimeter wave private network license, to put it bluntly, means that the state authorizes some millimeter wave frequency band resources to enterprises to use. Enterprises can build their own 5G private networks based on these frequency bands.

As we all know, now is the information age, and there are a large number of digital devices working in various industries, including factories, parks, ports, freight yards, mining areas, hospitals, etc. These devices all need to be connected to the network. Through the network, data collection and equipment control can be realized, and a complete digital system can be formed.

In the early days, equipment was mainly wired connection, using industrial Ethernet and other technologies. However, some equipment (such as AGV trolleys, mining trucks, etc.) need to be moved at any time, which is inconvenient to plug in. Moreover, engineering wiring is also more troublesome and not easy to maintain. Therefore, enterprises began to explore the use of wireless technology to replace wired technology for device connection.

AGV trolley

If you want to use wireless technology, you must have wireless frequency band resources. In the past, there were only two options in front of enterprises:

The first is to use Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and other technologies to use the license-free ISM (Industrial Scientific Medical, Industrial, Scientific and Medical) frequency band.

The second is cooperation with operators. Operators use their own frequency band resources to build 5G private networks for enterprises.

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This 5G private network is divided into virtual private network and independent private network.

A virtual private network is a private channel used by operators to divide a dedicated channel for enterprise users in a public network through network slicing technology. This mode is fast to deploy and low cost. However, because it is a virtual channel (not physically isolated), it cannot meet the stringent requirements of production scenarios in terms of data security, network autonomy controllability, and performance (speed, latency, and reliability).

Independent private network is a network built by operators for enterprises, using frequency bands independent of the public network, and dedicated to private frequencies. In this mode, frequency resources are guaranteed, interference and conflicts are not easy to occur, and enterprises have more autonomy and controllability, stronger data security, and better network performance. However, the cost is higher.

In the past few years, many companies have built 5G private networks, most of which are virtual private networks. According to the data, as of August 2025, the number of virtual private networks in our country deployed in the 5G industry is 64,000.

5G private network

With the continuous advancement of digital transformation in all walks of life, virtual private networks are increasingly unable to meet the needs of scenarios, and the call for the construction of independent private networks is getting louder and louder. This accelerates the decision of the upper layer to allocate more frequency band resources to 5G private networks.

At present, in the Sub-6G band (sub-6GHz frequency band), the sub-5GHz band resources are extremely scarce and have long been divided. The domestic 5-6GHz frequency band is likely to also be given to operators or reserved for 6G. Therefore, only the mmWave frequency band (frequency 30-300GHz, see the figure below for the mmWave frequency band defined by the 3GPP standard organization) is available for private networks.

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As mentioned at the beginning of this article, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology plans to issue millimeter wave private network frequency licenses, which is the second batch.

In 2022, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued the first batch, which was only given to one company at that time, that is, COMAC. There are two specific frequency bands for distribution, namely 5.925~6.125GHz and 24.75-27.5GHz. The latter one is often referred to as the 26GHz frequency band.

这次的第二批，发放的企业更多，范围更广，将会涵盖港口、制造、电网等多个关键行业。更值得关注的是，这批频谱获批单位除了大型国有企业之外，也有民营企业，符合目前国内大力支持民营企业发展的风向。

5G毫米波专网，有哪些优势？

毫米波频段，确实拥有Sub-6G频段所不具备的一些优势。

这个频段的资源更加丰富。Sub-6G频段一般就是40MHz或100MHz，毫米波直接100MHz起步，多的可以给到800MHz甚至2000MHz。

5G的工作频宽

这么大的频率宽度，能够轻松实现1Gbps甚至10Gbps（万兆）的连接速率。

毫米波频段也可以更好地支持大规模天线阵列（Massive MIMO）技术。通过波束赋形，动态调整信号波束指向，增强信号方向性与增益，减少干扰。

波束赋形

毫米波的天线也更短（天线长度和工作波长成正比），可以让基站和终端的体积变得更小，提高设备的集成度。

5G早期时候宣传的很多优点，其实都是基于毫米波频段的。国内一直没有将毫米波频段用于运营商的5G公共网络，也是很多用户觉得5G在“吹牛皮”的原因之一。

当然，毫米波也有缺点。它最大的问题在于覆盖能力弱。因为波长短，绕射能力差，所以，信号容易被障碍物阻挡，信号覆盖范围有限。这个缺点对企业专网反而有一点好处。因为专网都是园区的区域覆盖，需要尽量减少对周边企业的影响。

目前看来，5G毫米波专网在好几类行业场景中都有落地需求。

例如在工业制造领域，毫米波的大带宽、低时延优势，可以支持AR远程质检、设备状态实时监测、柔性生产调度等场景。通过毫秒级响应能力，确保生产设备协同运作精准同步，减少流程卡顿，提升整体生产效率。

再例如，在比赛或演唱会中，毫米波的超大带宽可以支撑超高清视频（4K/8K）的稳定、高速传输。今年2月份的亚冬会上，中国联通就基于毫米波，为赛场提供了媒体转播的相关服务，效果非常不错。

此外，在电网巡检、边境防控、园区安防、港口物流、智慧矿山等各个场景，毫米波都有很大的应用价值。

现在AI浪潮高速发展，会刺激机器视觉、具身智能等应用的发展。这些应用，对带宽、时延、稳定性也有更高的要求。采用毫米波，能够更好地满足这些需求。

特别值得一提的是，毫米波除了通信之外，也具有很强的感知能力和定位能力。

毫米波的波束窄、方向性好，空间分辨力高，室内定位优势突出。在现在非常热门的低空经济领域，毫米波也可以用于通感一体，可以更精准地定位低空飞行器。

发放5G毫米波专网牌照，会带来哪些影响？

国内5G于2019年开始商用。这些年来，我们一直都是用Sub-6G频段，毫米波频段是一个敏感词。之所以没有使用毫米波频段，原因是多方面的。如今，5G应用进入深水区，适时启用毫米波频段，符合市场和行业发展的需求。

对于企业来说，毫米波频段的优势，有利于建设质量更好的专网，提升生产效率，降低成本，助力数字化转型的推进。

对于产业链来说，这无疑也是重大利好。毫米波5G的生态链，和传统Sub-6G有一定的区别（主要集中在无线设备上）。在射频芯片、基带芯片、射频前端材料（双工器、滤波器）、天线材料、测试仪器等方面，毫米波的规模商用都会带来一波红利。

越多越多的企业建设5G毫米波专网，也会带动光传输和核心网设备的销售。

特别值得关注的是，5G毫米波专网的建设模式问题。

Traditional 5G private networks, using the frequency bands of operators, enterprises are inseparable from operators, need to jointly build the network, and also need operators to maintain it.

Now, enterprises have the millimeter wave frequency band authorization of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. Does it mean that enterprises can bypass operators and work directly with equipment vendors, just like building Wi-Fi or campus wired networks? In this way, enterprises will have more network autonomy. However, it is also a new challenge for operators that can be marginalized. The construction mode of the network will undergo fundamental changes.

The granting of wireless spectrum resources is a very prudent matter. It is easy to grant, but it is difficult to take it back in the future. Behind this is not only the investment in the industrial chain, but also the inherent investment of enterprises. This is also the reason why the country has been adopting a gradual pilot promotion. In recent years, relevant departments have also been conducting frequent research to prepare for decision-making.

Final words

Millimeter wave 5G has successful commercial cases abroad, and we have fallen behind a little in this field.

Actively deploying and commercially applying millimeter wave technology is a reasonable choice for 5G development to a new stage, which will help give full play to the value of frequency band resources and promote the in-depth implementation of 5G technology in vertical industries.

In short, it is expected that more enterprises can build their own 5G millimeter wave private networks, and we also hope that this technology can further accelerate the digital transformation of the whole industry and enhance our country's competitive advantage in the global science and technology competition.