The popularity of private networks is booming across the world, according to trade body the GSM Association (GSMA) which reports there are now 794 of them orchestrating industry over LTE or 5G technologies in 68 countries across the globe. Manufacturing is far and and away the most popular sector. 5g manufacturing

The ‘acting 5G’ cum fourth generation bridge builder LTE (long term evolution) is still the technology of choice in most factories, but pure 5G is being used by ‘around’ 37% of the customers tracked in its study, said GSMA. The association has also identified at least 71 telecom network operators involved with private mobile network projects.

Go private 5g manufacturing

Disenchantment with public services means there’s many operators and companies going private. The Manufacturing sector is the largest adopter with 140 identified companies involved in known pilots or deployments, up from 111 at the end of 2021.

The Education sector is next, with 80 networks, followed by Mining companies (69) and Power/utility companies (68). There are 71 ‘discrete’ manufacturing networks, compared with 42 networks used for process manufacturing. The use cases of the other 27 have yet to be announced. Car makers like Porsche and BMW are the biggest users of private networks, followed by manufacturers of electrical equipment, appliances and components and then makers of computers and electronic and optical products.

Hyperscalers 5g manufacturing

A new trend is that hyperscale cloud service providers are offering private mobile networks, sometimes in partnership with mobile operators or network suppliers. The partnership of Telenor and AWS is a prime example. Everyone in the industry is at it, according to Joe Barrett, president of the Global mobile Suppliers Association. “Organisations of all types, whether they are in the manufacturing, education or automotive sector are investing and deploying networks that will drive automation and productivity,” said Barrett, “We are tracking over 50 equipment vendors that have been involved in the supply of equipment for Private Mobile Networks based on LTE or 5G.” 
With the ecosystem in place and regulators planning to make spectrum available for LTE and 5G private usage, expect significant market developments over the next couple of years, Barrett said.

Challenges with accessing 5G

Although there is huge potential benefit for 5G to impact the manufacturing industry, there are still challenges that may hinder the ability for manufacturers to leverage its capabilities. Some of this is due to aspects outside of 5G per se, for example the fact that many of the applications described require data to be accessed from siloed systems and processes, need advanced technologies such as machine learning and must be integrated back into a manufacturer’s existing processes to improve operations automatically, Huawei wrote in their “5G’S IMPACT ON MANUFACTURING: $740BN OF BENEFITS IN 2030” report.
Outside of these, there are potential challenges related to purely accessing 5G. Although mobile operators have already launched 5G in the advanced markets or having announced the availability of 5G in the next 1-2 years, this does not imply 5G will be ready for manufacturers to use widely. This is because the initial characteristics of 5G are will not necessarily benefit manufacturers immediately, as they focus on increasing bandwidth and speeds for consumer applications. In addition, coverage in remote areas will be an issue.

Globally, the impact from 5G on manufacturing GDP is forecasted to be $739 billion by 2030, an increase of 4% on the base forecast, with most of the benefit (73%) in the leading manufacturing nations, such as China, USA, Japan and Germany.