Demand for private cellular-based LTE (4G) and 5G networks is rising fast among enterprises in many sectors. It will spiral upwards further as regulation sees dedicated spectrum made available to enterprises in new markets. Analyst group SNS Telecom & IT says global spending on private LTE and 5G infrastructure will grow at a compound annual rate (CAGR) of 18 percent between 2023 and 2026, accounting for over $6.4 billion by the end of the period. ABI Research puts the 2030 total at a staggering $100 billion, including professional services and applications on top.
Whatever the definitions and discrepancies in these forecasts, and countless others, the message from market watchers is clear: that a boom-time beckons for private cellular as a springboard for all manner of digital change applications. The logic is also plain: private 5G, especially, affords enterprises the kinds of low latency, high bandwidth, critical security, and advanced control that has been unavailable until now with wireless networks; they are about to be freed of the cost and constraints of cabled infrastructure, without losing any network performance.
A new era beckons for smart industry. But who ‘primes’ the pump? Who delivers the network? It is a young market, still, and all of the players in the supply-side ecosystem are jockeying for position. Another thing that is clear, however, is that traditional mobile operators will be a force. True, a part of the early market says they are late to the party, already, and that they lack the knowhow with enterprises. But be clear, also: cellular networking, whether big or small, is their territory, and the best of them are smart enough to adapt, and find their mark with enterprises.
Just as the best of them have done with IoT – which these higher-end private networks plug into. But mobile operators also face a challenge: they are either inundated with more requests than they can handle (and certainly that they can execute), or else, as per the criticism, they do not have the knowhow or resources to serve complex enterprise requirements. But equally, if there is one thing IoT has taught us it is that it ‘takes a village’. Digital transformation is a team sport, and operators fielding requests for private 5G have good options available to them.
One important option for them, which capitalizes on the rising demand for roaming between private and public network infrastructure, is to build relationships with neutral host providers, which can provide either a neutral-host infrastructure or – in tandem with system integrators or mobile operators themselves – a complete private networking solution. Neutral host providers, like US telecoms specialist Syniverse, can offer a hub service in neutral host environments to unite the supplier ecosystem around cellular-based digital-change solutions.
For mobile operators, seeking to make the most of escalating interest from enterprises in specialist 5G solutions, the big advance is to be able to offer their customers enhanced localized ‘break-out’ coverage on private infrastructure in regions where their public-macro networks lose signal, or where their employers impose access restrictions on local company data. At the same time, such relationships easily evolve into quid-pro-quo arrangements to enable IoT access on public carrier networks when assets roam outside of their original private-network perimeter.
In instances where the operator supplies a managed private network to the ‘host’ enterprise, a hub-integrator like Syniverse can simplify sundry logistics around spectrum leasing, international roaming, eSIM management, and other ecosystem integration. All of which means mobile operators can take easy advantage of the burgeoning opportunity with enterprise cellular whilst focusing on what they do best – to run critical-grade mobile networks and customer service.
