In today’s digital landscape, a highly secure and reliable network is a must-have. No matter the sector, traditional network infrastructure is struggling to keep up with the requirements of connected systems and businesses are under pressure to deploy new offerings constantly and rapidly.
Enter private wireless networks. Ever since 5G was launched in the UK in 2019, private 5G network adoption has changed the game, giving organisations the chance to get ahead of their competitors and evolve from traditional network infrastructure.
Telecom providers and tech giants alike have spun up new capabilities to accelerate the adoption of 5G in businesses – it’s estimated that by the end of 2030, local private networks will connect over 150 million cellular devices, a huge increase from the five million we saw at the end of 2022.
The selling point for cellular
Shifting from traditional network infrastructure to private 5G adoption is a big move, but it is integral in achieving long-term network success. One of the biggest drivers of 5G is the limitations of Wi-Fi technology.
Wi-Fi networks typically have black spots where the signal becomes too weak or unstable to maintain connectivity. Whether caused by long distances, physical obstructions, technical interference, or a combination of the three, these issues can impact connectivity at any time or location.
5G technology, on the other hand, virtually guarantees blanket coverage across entire sites, even vast industrial environments, without any black spots. Additionally, 5G technology opens up business to a range of new capabilities, including supporting IoT and artificial intelligence (AI) in both indoor and outdoor environments. What’s more, cellular networks can be deployed in both standalone and hybrid environments, incorporating technologies like multi-access computing, which supports low-latency applications.
Private networks also offer greater security benefits, including SIM-based authentication and strong air interface ciphering. Private networks allow businesses to allocate different security roles to different devices, streamlining the management and security of their systems.
While Wi-Fi networks are built by collaborating with a telecoms service provider, private networks offer a greater sense of independence and control. The business is able to determine exactly what can connect to the network and how – setting the relevant usage policies for devices on the network.
Why is adoption lagging?
Although the transformational benefits of private 5G networks are clear, and businesses in the UK are certainly expected to increase usage in the coming years, progress has been slow. The market disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic is undoubtedly the main reason why adoption has stalled, with many businesses forced to focus on urgent cash-flow pressures rather than investing in private 5G.
Recently, the spike in energy prices caused by geopolitical tensions has also disrupted business budgets, causing some to reduce their investment in other areas such as private 5G networks. This mirrors the adoption of public 5G – government targets for public 5G have reduced from 100 percent coverage to 85 percent coverage by 2025, with even the latter still a long way off.
While they offer a much more consistent coverage than Wi-Fi, private 5G networks still have reception challenges to deal with. Businesses need excellent coverage and a flawless smartphone experience, whether that be from home or residential buildings. However, 5G networks have an in-building coverage challenge in the form of eco-glass and modern insulations. While these elements, present in a lot of newer buildings, have the benefit of blocking radiation, this also extends to 5G. So, while 5G is able to penetrate these buildings, coverage can suffer.
Even in major business hubs like London, where in-building reception is consistent and users are happy, coverage can drop if users step outside of the building and the device hands over to the operator’s macro cell but cannot get the bandwidth. Connectivity in business parks can also be a challenge. Either the business has to source an operator to provide a mast, which means they are then beholden to them, or they can take matters into their own hands and purchase their own infrastructure, which comes at great expense and operational overhead – quite the business dilemma.
The solution to this is, of course, for more cell towers to handle the increased capacity of wireless data and demand for private 5G. 5G requires a lot more edge infrastructure to support its performance, not to mention upgrading backhaul networks to cope with this rise in demand. Like any infrastructure transformation, it will require detailed planning, time investment, overcoming a lot of red tape, and huge financial expenditure.
A catapult to the future
The UK government Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) funded a number of ‘catapults’ under its Digital Catapult scheme – specialist agencies tasked with monetising and launching new ways of using 5G technology, among other things. The results of the various studies and research launched through the DCMS network of catapults are yet to be seen at any significant scale. However these efforts are ongoing and offer huge potential for future growth.
It is clear that, despite the many roadblocks that have impacted 5G adoption, the appetite for private 5G networks is still growing. But there is no one-size-fits-all approach to connectivity. Organisations have to use the infrastructure that best meets their needs and future goals, and if that means adopting a hybrid approach, they should remain open to that.
In light of this, connectivity solutions will need to become much more bespoke and tailored, and customers will therefore be looking for a lot more than just technology from their service providers. In this new landscape, technology providers should act as a partner beyond just the technology, able to guide their customers through transformation from end to end and offering unparalleled and unbiased expertise along the way.
This way, both providers and businesses can craft a more connected future in collaboration.
