Until recently, a private wireless network was not considered a viable option for most organizations. With more and more enterprises and companies looking at ways to gain a competitive edge and modernize their connectivity, implementing private wireless networks have become a popular way to meet those goals.
What is a Private Wireless Network?
The availability of new spectrum along with recent advances in both LTE and 5G technology, are making deploying and owning a private wireless network more affordable and easier to implement for those businesses looking at solutions for highly reliable connectivity.
Basically, a private wireless network acts similarly to a public wireless network. Unlike the public wireless network, the infrastructure in a private network is solely controlled and managed by the organization or business deploying the network. While still compatible with public networks, these private networks unlock next-level capabilities for advanced IoT applications and can be customized and prioritized to meet specific needs for security and performance. That is why many organizations are digging deeper into how a dedicated private wireless network can benefit their business.
What are the Benefits of a Private Wireless Network?
There are multiple benefits to deploying a private network. This type of network delivers greater security and a higher network capacity as well as opening up new ways of bringing connectivity to challenging work environments. While delivering speed and efficiency, it also offers reliability, built-in security and the ability to allow a business to customize their network and allocate how traffic is prioritized.
Benefits include:
- Complete security and privacy
- Ability to analyze real-time data, reports and diagnostics
- Ease of deployment
- Improved latency options and reliability
- Increased capacity and data rates
- Resiliency
- Scalable
- Future-ready
- Wider range and improved coverage
Private 4G LTE Network vs Private 5G Network
With each generation of wireless technology getting faster and more reliable, making a choice between LTE and 5G for your private network comes down to your location and budget, as well as your specific use cases. 4G LTE has brought many breakthroughs and applications that have enhanced our everyday life. 5G improves on 4G LTE as it offers lower latency, increased speed, option to increase the number of connected devices, added capacity and increased energy efficiency. It’s important for businesses or organizations to assess what their current and future requirements for their private network are, and depending on their needs, decide which technology to take advantage of. Either way, as technology evolves, a business can easily upgrade their 4G private network to allow for a smooth transition for future technology requirements. Approximately 85% of industrial use cases can be supported by a 4G LTE private network which gives you the building blocks to easily evolve to 5G at a later point.
Is a Private Network Right for My Business?
A private wireless network can support different use cases for business, industry, communities and government entities and can be deployed across different vertical sectors including:
- Airports, railroads, buses and public transportation
- Construction sites
- Commercial real estate
- Farming, ranching and agriculture
- Government and military
- Hospitals and healthcare
- Manufacturing and industrial IoT
- Mining
- Oil and gas
- Public safety
- Retail
- Rural and remote areas
- School districts and higher education campuses
- Shipping ports and shipyards
- Smart cities
- Stadiums, arenas and entertainment venues
- Utilities
- Warehouse and logistics centers
Is it Difficult to Deploy a Private Wireless Network?
With the case being made for organizations to deploy private wireless networks, many of those businesses or entities may not have the deep technological expertise and understanding that is critical to build a network that is both scalable and future proof. Working with an experienced partner from the ground up can ensure that you are making the right connectivity decisions to allow you to take full advantage of what a private network can offer in terms of unleashing the potential for growth, automation, security and ultra-reliability.
Private Wireless Network Can Be a Game Changer
Any business or organization looking for better control and optimization is a candidate for a private wireless network. Although getting started might seem daunting, Wesco can partner with you to take the next steps to design, deploy, configure, optimize and manage your end-to-end connectivity. Experience counts – and Wesco can help both big and small companies and organizations with the equipment and solutions to build flexible and scalable private networks.