889 organisations are deploying LTE or 5G Private Mobile Networks worldwide

27 Sep 2022
Richard White

889 organisations are deploying LTE or 5G Private Mobile Networks worldwide

GSA identifies 70 countries and territories where customers have deployed private networks based on LTE or 5G

London, UK – September 27th, 2022 – The Global mobile Suppliers Association (GSA) today confirmed that it is tracking at least 889 organisations deploying LTE or 5G Private Mobile Networks in one or more locations. To date, GSA has identified 66 mobile operators and 70 countries/territories in which organisations are involved with Private Mobile Network projects.

The new Private-Mobile-Networks August 2022 report shares the GSA’s latest data regarding the Private Mobile Networks market and shows that LTE continues to account for the majority of deployments, with 57% being LTE only. Including those deployments where LTE and 5G is combined, LTE is used in 672 of the catalogued customers deploying private mobile networks for which GSA has data. 5G is being deployed in 354, or 39.8%, of customers, including 5G Standalone which is used in 37 deployments. Globally, out of the 70 countries and territories identified as having organisations deploying private networks based on LTE or 5G, the USA leads the way, followed by Germany, China, the UK and Japan. In addition, there are Private Mobile Network installations in various offshore locations serving the oil and gas industries, as well as on ships.

The new report reveals that a large number and a wide range of market participants are actively engaged in developing and delivering solutions for Private Mobile Networks. Among the 889 organisations known to be deploying LTE or 5G Private Mobile Networks, the manufacturing sector revealed itself to be a strong adopter of the technology with 165 identified companies, up from 111 at the end of 2021. The manufacturing sector is closely followed by the education, mining and power utilities sectors.

The new GSA report includes insights on countries/territories with identified private network deployments (pilot and commercial), by technology (LTE, LTE+5G, 5G), by status (pilot project or production deployment), and the number of identified private mobile network deployments by sector. A free executive summary of the report can be downloaded here: https://gsacom.com/paper/private-mobile-networks-august-2022-member-report/ (registration required).

The full report, available to all GSA Members and Associates subscribing to the GAMBoD service, includes a full listing of organisations deploying Private Mobile Networks based on LTE, 5G or holding licences suitable for private LTE or 5G network deployment and is searchable by vertical, country, network type, technology and spectrum band.

This latest data and insight was first shared with the GSA community in a webinar GSA Snapshot: Private Mobile Networks (1H 2022), which available to watch on-demand here: https://gsacom.com/webinar/gsa-snapshot-private-mobile-networks-2022/

“Private mobile networks are a microcosm of the wider 4G and 5G ecosystem. There is a strong positive correlation between liberalised spectrum and the adoption of private mobile networks. Our dataset includes over 50 equipment vendors, 66 operators and 70 countries and territories, all working together to realise the potential of this market across multiple sectors,” said Joe Barrett, President of the Global mobile Suppliers Association. “Manufacturing, education, mining, rail and power utilities organisations, are, among other, investing and deploying networks that will drive automation, productivity and change. Through these investments, organisations show that they truly believe in Private Networks and its promises.”

GSA defines a Private Mobile Network as a 3GPP-based 4G/LT-5G private mobile network intended for the sole use of private entities such as enterprises, industries or governments, that is not offered to the general public and uses spectrum defined in 3GPP. It also includes 3GPP-based MulteFire and Future Railway Mobile Communication System (FRMCS). However, excluded from this data are non-3GPP networks such as WiFi networks, Tetra, P25, WIMAX, Sigfox, and LORA, network slices from the public network or virtual network function (VNF) on a router, and where operators are deploying extra sites in proximity of enterprise locations as an extension of their existing public network in order to provide better coverage.

About GSA
GSA is the voice of the global mobile ecosystem representing companies engaged in the supply of infrastructure, semiconductors, test equipment, devices, applications and mobile support services. The organisation plays a central role in promoting 3GPP technology, advocating spectrum policies and stimulating IMT industry development. The association is a single source of information for industry reports and market intelligence

The GSA GAMBoD database is a unique search and analysis tool that has been developed to enable searches of LTE and 5G devices and new global data on Mobile Broadband Networks, Technologies and Spectrum (NTS). Results are presented as a list or in charts. Charts may be inserted into documents or presentations, subject to accreditation of GSA as the source.

GAMBoD is a resource dedicated to promoting the success and growth of the Mobile Broadband (MBB) industry and ecosystem and is fully available to all employees of GSA Executive and Ordinary Member companies and GSA Associates who subscribe to the service. More information on GAMBoD is available here: https://gsacom.com/gambod/