Six billion dollars. That’s how high private 5G sales will reach in 2027, according to recent data from market research firm SNS Telecom & IT. These projections come after Analysys Mason said in early 2024 that enterprises will spend as much as $9 billion on private 5G by 2030. These projections indicate steady momentum in the private 5G market, and there are no signs in the market to suggest a slow-down in 2025.
Many enterprise decision-makers already realize the benefits of private 5G: deterministic low latency, better mobility, better coverage, and inherent security. Moreover, private 5G deployments are extending beyond more saturated sectors, such as industrial and warehousing, to other industries like sports and media. This year will see a definitive uptick in 5G investments, deployments, and use cases across the world.
Let’s look at a few trends that will ensure the continued growth of private 5G in 2025, and beyond.
1 | Industrial verticals will double down; others will make their opening plays
Right now, there are many examples of private 5G – or ‘private cellular network’ (PCN) – deployments in industrial environments. This includes manufacturing, warehouse/logistics, ports, airports, mining, and energy, notably. Organizations in these sectors are using private 5G to uplevel their automation efforts, provide visibility into operations, and enhance their safety measures.
In turn, they rely on the PCNs to ensure constant communication and data sharing for automated devices – such as automated guided vehicles (AGVs) and autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) – and IoT devices such as environmental monitoring sensors or predictive maintenance tools that connect workers with scanners or other handheld devices. PCNs also support different types of remotely operated equipment. As these organizations lean more on private 5G in 2025, they’ll continue to experience the technical advantages that led them to private 5G in the first place.
The success in industrial verticals will invariably precipitate more private 5G implementations in non-industrial settings as well. For example, we will see more sports and media companies leverage private networks for broadcasting and to facilitate the sharing of real-time analytics during broadcasts. The NFL in the US is already using private networks to facilitate in-game communications within coaching staffs.
Retail companies and higher education institutions will also pursue private 5G deployments in 2025. Retail stores will look to PCNs to power important customer services such as curbside pickup. Higher education institutions will use them to provide dedicated connectivity for security cameras, emergency callbox systems, event point-of-sale systems, and much more.
2 | Neutral host systems will extend public 5G, and drive private 5G
As enterprises look to provide both their employees and customers with constant connectivity and coverage in 2025, they will no longer be boxed into the traditional distributed antenna system (DAS) solutions. In fact, they’ll begin to leverage an option referred to in some circles as a ‘DAS killer’ – a flexible modern neutral host solution. These neutral host systems will grow in popularity as they provide a less complex architecture than traditional DAS systems.
This makes them easier to deploy and less costly in terms of both capital and operational expenditure. In this architecture, carrier-approved radios can be shared by multiple operators, making it easier to extend public carrier wall-to-wall coverage. But how does this relate to private 5G in 2025?
Simple: those who use these neutral host solutions will start to realize the power of 5G, and be able to take advantage of the incremental control, quality of service, and security benefits of private 5G. In fact, some solutions can support neutral hosts and private 5G without additional infrastructure. This will open the door for organizations across multiple industries to extend public 5G coverage while leveraging a secure private 5G network, and saving costs.
3 | Enterprises will seek an easier way to configure devices on private networks
As private 5G deployments increase, enterprises will also increase the number and type of devices they deploy on their private 5G networks. This includes mobile devices, IoT devices, and other operational technology (OT) equipment. We saw momentum in this direction heading into 2024 as certain manufacturers, such as Apple, announced that some of their eSIM phones and tablets would have private network compatibility.
If organizations leverage eSIM devices in particular – and combine them with compatible private 5G solutions – they will experience benefits in both device onboarding and configuration. Instead of having to physically enter a SIM card in each device, they’ll be able to onboard and configure thousands of devices at once. This isn’t new per se, but it is extremely important – as the industry has passed the point where deployments only supported tens or hundreds of devices.
Now, enterprises are using their private 5G networks to support thousands of devices and they will greatly benefit from an easy way to onboard, secure, and manage those devices.
4 | Enterprises no longer need proof – and will increasingly skip PoCs altogether
In the early days of private 4G and 5G networks, it was common for organizations to want a proof of concept – something to show that this technology really worked. However, 2024 saw multiple enterprises skip this step, believe in the technology from the start, and go right to commercial and/or multi-site deployments. The industry is showing that the proof now lies in the deployments that are already benefiting the enterprise.
In 2025, as new verticals implement private 5G, neutral host systems make their mark on the industry, and more devices leverage private networks, private 5G will continue to prove its worth as a key factor in business success.
