Why all the long faces? Some enterprise-network vendors think private LTE/5G is positively humming in Industry 4.0 venues, and they have the contracts to show – they claim. Atlanta-based Future Technologies has just issued a press missive to declare “several multi-million dollar” private-5G contract wins among Fortune 100 and 500 industrial firms, as well a $150 million pipeline in new private-5G Industry 4.0 sales. Y’see? 2024 will be a year of “growth [and] scale”, said Future Technologies.
Future Technologies is in the business of integrating network systems for enterprises; its private-network sales hinge on third-party components. It works with Nokia and Ericsson, notably; the new press statement makes-play of its partnership with Intel on “Intel-based [private 5G] solutions”, also. Its website also lists the likes of AWS, Ciena, Cisco, Dell, HPE, Juniper (HPE; pending), Microsoft, Samsung, and Sierra Wireless (Semtech).
It is presenting 5G, alongside WI-Fi and LTE, and whatever-fits-the-bill, as part of an end-to-end” Industry 4.0 design-integrate-manage proposition. Its position, it emphasised, is that private cellular is a complementary connectivity option, to go with Wi-Fi and public cellular in the main. It also leaned on its experience – 25 years in private networks, it said. Its recent wins – with Fortune 100-through-1000 firms – are in the US manufacturing space.
It refused to name-names, but added some colour. One new Fortune 100 customer has taken a private 5G network on a “multi-year multi-million” deal at a five million square foot (460,000 square-metre) production site to enable autonomous mobile robotics (AMR) and “drive operational efficiency”. A Fortune 500 customer is enabling “Intel architecture” on a private LTE5G networkat its production site to enable edge AI use cases.
These include computer vision, connected worker, remote worker and asset management, the company said, as well as to connect manufacturing line devices (CNC, PLC) on cellular routers. A Fortune 1000 customer is running a critical industrial automation system for material handling on private LTE/5G – to enable connected readers, PLCs, and digital devices. It said the old outdoor Wi-Fi network experienced “challenges with interference”.
Future Technologies stated: “Private cellular is complementary to existing network solutions such as wired, Wi-Fi, and public cellular, intended to provide an additional connectivity option… [It represents] another step in our technology journey with our clients to help them take advantage of the best of each technology and by doing so actually extend the lifecyle of each product by tailoring the right use case to the right network.”
Peter Cappiello, chief executive at Future Technologies, said: “Future Technologies has been doing private cellular networks since 2010 and is very well positioned… to help clients transform their networks for advanced use cases, coverage applications and network convergence of IT and OT. With a growing open pipeline of over $150 million in private networks, we see 2024 as our year of growth to scale our capabilities to a larger portfolio of clients.”
Caroline Chan, vice president and general manager for private wireless at Intel, said: “The private wireless design wins running on Intel architecture and edge AI assets showcases the various benefits of this successful collaboration and demonstrates Future Technologies’ strength in this market. Private networks is a growth segment for Intel, and we are thrilled to see top Fortune 500 companies are adopting it.”
