Private networks are fundamental in introducing automation to enterprises
5G private networks have only just started to be deployed
4G and 5G networks will be on the factory floor for years to come
One of the main things to realize about the future of private networking: It won’t happen fast!
Consider that we have just started the 5G private era, with some commercial systems coming online in the second half of 2024 and a lot of proof-of-concept (POC) setups still out there — a good five years after public 5G systems came into existence!
While a lot — and I mean a whole lot — of private networking systems use 4G and that’s unlikely to change soon. The 4G and 5G systems that enterprises, hospitals and others have will remain perfectly adequate for their needs for years to come.
It very much depends what the company is using the private network for. As SNS Telecom & IT noted in their November CBRS report, several vehicle makers are using a 5G network in the U.S. — and often globally — to deploy autonomous vehicles on the factory floor. It’s equipment has low enough latency to enable robots — on a predetermined path — to scoot around the factory floor without crashing into other people or robots. BMW, Tesla and Toyota Material Handling (which makes forklifts) have all deployed, or are installing, private 5G at their factories.
Much of this private 5G cellular work is to replace Wi-Fi systems that delivered uneven and reliable coverage in a factory. Wi-Fi is just not keeping up with the automation demands of the auto manufacturing industry, Verizon’s Associate Director of Robotics, Bill Stafford said in March this year. This, however, is for organizations that run — or are planning to operate — thousands of robots on the factory floor.
Many other deployments, such as that from Italian Ceramics manufacturing company Del Conca, which has switched to a private cellular network rather than Wi-Fi to run automated guided vehicles (AGVs) in its large plant in Tennessee, are perfectly happy with 4G LTE.
And many of those enterprises, whether running 4G or 5G, will not replace that system for many years to come. This isn’t like a consumer situation where you replace your phone every few years. These enterprise systems are built for the long haul, which could mean anywhere from 10 to 30 years!
So despite the call for a 6G private networking standard, I wouldn’t expect to see any real interest in 6G private networking until we’re well into the 2030s.
Far more likely, in fact, is angst when operators come to turn 4G networks off many years from now. Since enterprises will still be actively using those frequencies.