Nearly 800 organizations are deploying LTE or 5G Private Mobile Networks, according to a report from the Global mobile Suppliers Association (GSA). Additionally, GSA has identified more than 70 telecom network operators involved with Private Mobile Network projects.
The GSA’s new Private-Mobile-Networks June 2022 report reveals that just over three quarters (76 percent) of organizations favor LTE over 5G, while 68 countries and territories now have private networks based on LTE or 5G. There are also private mobile network installations in various offshore locations serving the oil and gas industries, as well as on ships.
GSA defines a Private Mobile Network “as a 3GPP-based 4G/LT-5G private mobile network intended for the sole use of private entities such as enterprises, industries or governments, that is not offered to the general public and uses spectrum defined in 3GPP. It also includes 3GPP-based MulteFire and Future Railway Mobile Communication System (FRMCS).”
The data excludes non-3GPP networks such as WiFi networks, Tetra, P25, WIMAX, Sigfox, and LORA, network slices from the public network or virtual network functions (VNF) on a router, as well as where operators are deploying extra sites in proximity of enterprise locations as an extension of their existing public network in order to provide better coverage.
Manufacturers are strong adopters of LTE or 5G Private Mobile Networks, with 140 identified companies involved in known pilots or deployments, up from 111 at the end of 2021, according to the GSA report. The manufacturing sector is closely followed by the education and mining sectors.
“A large number and a wide range of organizations are heavily engaged in developing and delivering solutions for Private Mobile Networks,” said Joe Barrett, president of the Global mobile Suppliers Association, in a prepared statement about the private mobile networks report. “Organizations of all types, whether they are in the manufacturing, education, or automotive sector are investing and deploying networks that will drive automation and productivity. Through LTE and increasingly 5G, organizations are betting on Private Networks and what they can deliver.”
Recently, investment management firm BlackRock said that it would deploy a private 5G wireless network in its new New York City headquarters using the Verizon Business On Site private wireless offering. According to Verizon, BlackRock is the first U.S. customer for the service.
