Private LTE-5G infrastructure market to reach $5.7 billion in 2024: IDC

The private LTE/5G infrastructure market will grow from $945 million to reach $5.7 billion in 2024 as demand from mission-critical organisations are driving early investment, according to a new IDC report.

Private LTE/5G infrastructure is any LTE and/or 5G network deployed for a specific enterprise/industrial customer that provides dedicated access.

It includes networks that may utilise dedicated (licensed, unlicensed, or shared) spectrum, dedicated infrastructure, and private devices embedded with unique SIM identifiers.

According to the IDC, the worldwide revenue attributable to the sales of private LTE/5G infrastructure will grow with a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 43.4 per cent.

“Private LTE infrastructure is already used by select verticals worldwide to solve mission-critical networking challenges. However, the barrier to consumption has remained high, limiting adoption to organisations possessing in-house competency and access to dedicated spectrum,” said Patrick Filkins, senior research analyst, IoT and Mobile Network Infrastructure.

Many organisations are deploying private LTE today, and a select few are beginning to deploy private 5G in limited instances.

“With more spectrum being made available for enterprise uses, coinciding with the arrival of commercial 5G, interest has grown toward using private LTE/5G solutions as a basis for connectivity across a multitude of mission-critical, industrial and traditional enterprise organisations,” Filkins elaborated.

Mission-critical verticals are that require “always on” connectivity addressable through redundancy and dedicated resource, as well as the clear need or desire for mobile site connectivity.

Loss of connectivity would likely result in significant negative business or operational outcomes.

Industrial verticals are whose primary focus is process and industrial automation for Industry 4.0.

“Traditional enterprise or “Business-Critical” are verticals that require deterministic wireless networking beyond traditional Wi-Fi, but where redundancy and automation needs are lower,” the report mentioned.