Private Mobile NetworksEverything you've ever wanted to know about Private Mobile Networks

What's the difference between public and private networks?

Private Mobile Networks exist separately from public networks which are provided and managed by a mobile carrier or any third-party operator.

A Private Mobile Network is set up and managed locally for dedicated on-premises data communications and is only accessible to those authorised within the organisation.

What are the benefits of Private Mobile Networks?

There are many reasons why Private Mobile Networks continue to grow in popularity, not least the greater level of control over deployment, security, equipment, and device choices that they offer to many different sectors such as manufacturing, healthcare, and logistics.

Moving away from a reliance on public networks means that mission critical IoT applications are not at the mercy of congested or unreliable networks. Although your own dedicated Private Mobile Network may sound pricey, in reality it is much more cost-effective than large-scale WiFi. Alongside the cost saving benefits, Private Mobile Networks can help ensure improved performance for high bandwidth applications and better penetration and reliability.

The growth of Private Mobile Networks

Private Mobile Networks are forecast to receive more investment than public networks over the next decade. According to research from Arthur D Little, the global 5G private network opportunity could be worth as much as €60-€70 billion by 2025.

The growth of Private Networks is not new, but LTE and 5G technologies have drawn considerable attention to their potential. Polaris Market Research predicts that the global 5G private network market will grow at a CAGR of 40.9% between 2020 and 2028.

The Future of Private Mobile Networks

The future of Private Mobile Networks is driven by the growing demand for ultrareliable low latency connectivity for industrial applications, including industrial sensors and collaborative robots is a key factor.

At the same time, while 5G is capturing the attention, 4G LTE is also expected to be widely used for enabling wireless connectivity. ABI Research also expects LTE to dominate this sector until 2028. 5G is starting from a much lower base and, in any event, LTE is sufficient for many near-term use cases.

500+ companies currently investing in 5G private networks

According to Nokia CEO Pekka Lundmark, more money will be invested in private 5G networks than in public networks over the next 10 years, particularly for use cases around mission-critical applications. Lundmark goes on to predict that every dollar invested in 5G private networks will return $4+ of end-user value.

5G Private Networks deployments are growing quickly - according to the Global mobile Suppliers Association, “the exact number of existing private mobile network deployments is hard to determine, as details are not often made public”, however it notes that available data suggests that at least 500 companies have been, or are investing in, private mobile networks based on LTE or 5G as of December 2020.

What are the main drivers for the Private Mobile Network market?

• Data security – the increasing need for enterprise information and data security.
• Lower total cost of ownership - as a result of elimination of fixed cable and other connectivity (such as WiFi) and reduced mobile service costs.
• The growth of reliable 5G services.
• Spectrum availability for massive IoT and M2M communications.
• Performance demands - considerable demand for low latency, secure and affordable localised core private 5G networks, often associated with localised data processing capabilities for ultra-high-performance applications.
• Changing work patterns - heightened by the COVID-19 pandemic, requiring higher data capacities and faster connectivity, as well as more secure private networks as employees and visitors move between private and public networks.
• Licence-free spectrum options such as CBRS or LTE-U.

What are the security challenges associated with Private Mobile Networks?

• Device data transfer – Devices on the network essentially act as a USB drive. Data can be transferred to and from devices undetected – by means such as NFC, USB, Airdrop, Bluetooth, and so on. Once data is on the device, it can then be transferred on to the macro network / internet. .
• Moving between private networks - Employees need to travel into and out of PNs. The only options to maintain this “walled PN security” are to either give employees two phones (one for the PN and one for the macro/public network), a dual-SIM, or to ban macro network-attached mobile devices from the PN altogether – no scenario is ideal.
• Dual-sim phones
• Network slicing

How can Telecom26 help?

Telecom26 solves the problems of private-public network roaming by not only ensuring controlled subscriber access, and reliable and rapid handover to improve QoE., Additionally, Telecom26 enables complete visibility into all mobile data transferred to or from any Telecom26-enabled device on any network – public or private, ensuring no potential data security breach goes unnoticed. We work with our systems integrators (SI) and infrastructure affiliates and partners to provide an end-to-end PN deployment, or we can provide our unique Telecom26 SIM – either as single SIM, dual SIM, or eSIM hybrid – as well as advisory services to ensure the best data security possible.

Telecom26 can provide end-to-end greenfield PNs using our unique dual Telecom26 SIM that not only controls and manages which network (public or private) a device registers to, but also provides instant notification of any ‘undetected’ data breaches – which can occur on non-managed networks – as the device moves between the macro and private network. Get in touch today to learn more!