$6 Billion Private LTE/5G Market Shines Through Wireless Industry's Gloom

SNS Telecom & IT's latest research report indicates that the private LTE and 5G network market – estimated to be worth $6 Billion by the end of 2027 – is one of the few bright spots in the otherwise gloomy wireless telecommunications industry, which is marked by a slowdown in public mobile network infrastructure spending and service providers struggling to monetize their existing 5G investments, particularly in the consumer segment.

Historically a niche segment of the wider wireless telecommunications industry, private LTE and 5G networks – also referred to as NPNs (Non-Public Networks) in 3GPP terminology – have rapidly gained popularity in recent years due to privacy, security, reliability and performance advantages over public mobile networks and competing wireless technologies as well as their potential to replace hardwired connections with non-obstructive wireless links. Their expanding influence is evident from the recent use of rapidly deployable private cellular network-in-a-box systems for professional TV broadcasting, enhanced fan engagement and gameplay operations at major sports events, including Paris 2024 Olympics, 2024 UEFA European Football Championship, North West 200 Motorcycle Race, 2024 World Rowing Cup III, New York Sail Grand Prix, 2024 PGA Championship, 2024 UFL Championship Game and 2024 NFL International Games, as well as the Republican and Democratic national conventions in the run up to the 2024 United States presidential election.

Other examples of high-impact private LTE/5G engagements include but are not limited to multi-site, multi-national private cellular deployments at the industrial facilities of Airbus, BMW, Chevron, John Deere, LG Electronics, Midea, Tesla, Toyota, Volkswagen, Walmart and several other household brand names; Aramco's 450 MHz 3GPP network project in Saudi Arabia and ADNOCS' 11,000-square kilometer private 5G network for connecting thousands of remote wells and pipelines in the UAE; defense sector 5G programs for the adoption of tactical cellular systems and permanent private 5G networks at military bases in the United States, Germany, Spain, Norway, Japan and South Korea; service territory-wide private wireless projects of 450connect, Ameren, CPFL Energia, ESB Networks, Evergy, Neoenergia, PGE (Polish Energy Group), SDG&E (San Diego Gas & Electric), Tampa Electric, Xcel Energy and other utility companies; and the recent implementation of a private 5G network at Belgium's Nobelwind offshore wind farm as part of a broader European effort to secure critical infrastructure in the North Sea.

There has also been a surge in the adoption of private wireless small cells as a cost-effective alternative to DAS (Distributed Antenna Systems) for delivering neutral host public cellular coverage in carpeted enterprise spaces, public venues, hospitals, hotels, higher education campuses and schools. This trend is particularly prevalent in the United States due to the open accessibility of the license-exempt GAA (General Authorized Access) tier of 3.5 GHz CBRS spectrum. Some examples of private network deployments supporting neutral host connectivity to one or more national mobile operators include Meta's corporate offices, City of Hope Hospital, SHC (Stanford Health Care), Sound Hotel, Gale South Beach Hotel, Nobu Hotel, ASU (Arizona State University), Cal Poly (California Polytechnic State University), University of Virginia, Duke University and Parkside Elementary School.

SNS Telecom & IT estimates that global spending on private LTE and 5G network infrastructure for vertical industries will grow at a CAGR of approximately 20% between 2024 and 2027, eventually accounting for more than $6 Billion by the end of 2027. Close to 60% of these investments – an estimated $3.5 Billion – will be directed towards the buildout of standalone private 5G networks, which will become the predominant wireless communications medium to support the ongoing Industry 4.0 revolution for the digitization and automation of manufacturing and process industries. This unprecedented level of growth is likely to transform private LTE and 5G networks into an almost parallel equipment ecosystem to public mobile operator infrastructure in terms of market size by the late 2020s. By 2030, private networks could account for as much as a fifth of all mobile network infrastructure spending.

The “Private LTE & 5G Network Ecosystem: 2024 – 2030 – Opportunities, Challenges, Strategies, Industry Verticals & Forecasts” report presents an in-depth assessment of the private LTE and 5G network ecosystem, including the value chain, market drivers, barriers to uptake, enabling technologies, operational and business models, vertical industries, application scenarios, key trends, future roadmap, standardization, spectrum availability and allocation, regulatory landscape, case studies, ecosystem player profiles and strategies. The report also presents global and regional market size forecasts from 2024 to 2030. The forecasts cover three infrastructure submarkets, two technology generations, four spectrum licensing models, 16 vertical industries and five regional markets.

The report comes with an associated Excel datasheet suite covering quantitative data from all numeric forecasts presented in the report, as well as a database of over 7,300 global private LTE/5G engagements – as of Q4’2024.

The report will be of value to current and future potential investors into the private LTE and 5G market, as well as LTE/5G equipment suppliers, system integrators, private network specialists, mobile operators and other ecosystem players who wish to broaden their knowledge of the ecosystem.