Key Data

5G Private Networks

Last Updated - April 2026

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5G Private Networks Latest Key Data

Private mobile networks continue to demonstrate that 5G’s opportunity extends well beyond public consumer services.

Nearly 2,000 organisations worldwide are now known to be deploying LTE or 5G private networks, and the share using 5G is rising steadily even if the transition from LTE remains gradual. The pattern of adoption across manufacturing, education, mining, defence and utilities shows that demand is being driven by operational requirements, with different sectors moving at different speeds depending on cost, coverage and performance priorities.

The GSA Private Mobile Networks Special Interest Group (SIG) champions the important role of private mobile networks based on 4G LTE, and increasingly 5G technologies, in the digital transformation of organisations and industries. The SIG now represents 18 companies, including 450Alliance, 5G-ACIA, AI-Link, Airspan, Celona, Dell, Ericsson, GCF, GSMA, Keysight Technologies, Mavenir, Monogoto, Nokia, OnGo Alliance, OneLayer, PrivateLTEand5G.com, Star Solutions and TCCA.

Membership of GSA’s Private Mobile Networks SIG is £500 per annum and includes unlimited access to the Private Networks database in GAMBoD. Signing up as a GSA Associate also includes Membership of one of the GSA SIGs or Partner status in the FWA Forum. Additional SIGs can be joined for a discounted fee (£250 per annum). For more information on GSA Working Groups, visit members.gsacom.com/WorkingGroups

5G Private Networks

Key Industry Data – as of 20th April 2026

1953 organisations are known to be deploying LTE or 5G private mobile networks in 84 countries. 5G is being deployed in 934, or 48%, of these customers. The share of 5G is increasing but the shift from LTE to 5G is more gradual.

CBRS spectrum (3500 MHz) is the most widely assigned, with 481 references. C-band (3500- 2700 MHz) is the second most popular, with 433 references. Rounding out the top three is b41and n41 (2500 MHz) with 58 total references.

In 4Q25, of all reporting countries, the United States saw the largest increase in total customers, adding 6 customers and growing 1% from 3Q25. Of the top 25 reporting countries, Canada added 3 references, growing by 8% quarter-on-quarter. In the same period, Chile also continued Latin America’s growth trajectory, adding 3 more references and 20% from the previous quarter.

The manufacturing vertical is a strong adopter with 374 identified customer deployments, followed by the education and academic research sector with 169 customers deploying private networks. Mining companies follows with 140 references, and defence and peacekeeping has 130 customer deployments. Device testing and lab-as-a-service (119) and power utility companies (119) round out the top five.

Some industries, like hospitals, favour 5G, whereas LTE is more dominant in sectors such as oil and gas and mining.

Figures

Figure 1

Figure 1

Private mobile network customers by technology used (base: 1,953 catalogued customers deploying private wireless networks with revenue greater than €100,000)

Figure 2

Figure 2

Private mobile network technology used, by country (base: 1,642 catalogued customers deploying private wireless networks with revenue greater than €100,000 and country detail)

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Gain Further Insights

This page covers the top-level data for this topic, explore our GAMBoD databases for further data.

The six GAMBoD databases cover devices, spectrum assignments, public & private networks, chipsets and details on mobile operators globally. The databases are updated by our focused research team, monthly or quarterly, and summary and member industry reports are published based on this data.

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