GSA catalogues 370 private mobile networks globally, including over 120 projects involving 5G

11 Aug 2021
Richard White

Manufacturing sector dominates with nearly 80 identified pilot or production deployment projects

The Global mobile Suppliers Association (GSA) today confirmed that it is tracking at least 370 companies around the world that have been or are investing in private mobile networks based in LTE or 5G. The number includes trials and pilot deployments, commercial network launches or investment in licences that would enable deployment of private LTE or 5G networks. GSA has identified 45 countries/territories with private network deployments based on LTE or 5G or where 5G-suitable private network spectrum licences have been assigned.

The new Private Mobile Networks market status report reveals a global picture where the pace of 5G deployment is accelerating. Today, GSA is reporting that while LTE still accounts for the majority of private mobile networks deployments for which it has data, the market share of 5G is growing. LTE is being used in 64% of the catalogued private mobile networks down from 81% in October 2020, in contrast to 5G which is now being deployed (or planned for deployment) in 44% of private mobile networks, including 8% which are both LTE and 5G.

GSA’s data still suggests that manufacturing is an early adopter of local area private mobile networks with 79 identified companies holding suitable licences or involved in known pilots or deployments of LANs or probable LANs (up from 51 at the start of 2021). Mining follows second, with ports also actively trialling/deploying local area private mobile networks. Meanwhile the data suggests that utilities, police/security/public safety/defence, communications/‌IT and rail are the biggest users of wide area private mobile networks. Looking in more depth at the manufacturing sector, the automotive subsector is an early leader in terms of private network investment and adoption. Automotive companies account for over a quarter (25.3%) of the 79 identified manufacturing companies holding suitable licences or involved in known pilots or deployments.

The new GSA report Private mobile networks – market status update (August 2021) includes insights on countries/territories with identified private network deployments (pilot and commercial), private mobile network deployments by type (LAN vs WAN), 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-executive-summary-august-2021/ (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 or 5G  or holding licences suitable for private LTE or 5G network deployment and is searchable by vertical, country, network type, technology and spectrum band.

“The demand for private mobile networks based on LTE, and increasingly 5G, technologies is being driven by the spiralling data, security, digitisation and enterprise mobility requirements of modern business and government entities,” said Joe Barrett, President of the Global mobile Suppliers Association. “Organisations of all types are combining connected systems with big data and analytics to transform operations, increase automation and efficiency or deliver new services to their users. Wireless networking with LTE or 5G enables these transformations to take place even in the most dynamic, remote or highly secure environments, while offering the scale benefits of a technology that has already been deployed worldwide.”

“The private mobile networks market is home to a wide range of service providers, including equipment/technology vendors, mobile network operators, systems integrators and even private network end-users who sometimes take responsibility for installing or operating their own infrastructure,” Barrett continued. “GSA has counted nearly 50 equipment vendors involved in the supply of equipment for private mobile networks based on LTE or 5G and identified 68 public network operators supplying and involved with private mobile networks based on LTE or 5G. It is clear end-users are not all breaking ties with existing mobile services providers and are creating a significant and new opportunity for the whole mobile ecosystem.”

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.

GSA will holding a Snapshot Webinar on Private Mobile Networks on Thursday 16th September, where the GSA research team will share the latest global status of Private Mobile Networks deployments across industry verticals, the countries setting spectrum bands aside for local private networks and how local and wide area private networks are being deployed. To register for the free webinar, please go to: https://gsacom.com/webinar/gsa-snapshot-private-mobile-networks/.

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/

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