22 February 2023

"Private mobile networks are a red-hot topic, and the technology is taking a meaningful foothold in the market for wireless connectivity,” said Richard Webb, director of infrastructure at CCS Insight. “There are a growing number of deployment options available to enterprises in different industries and sizes, fuelling growth. In addition to many new customers adopting their first private networks, more companies are rolling out networks throughout multiple sites following successful trials. Our research shows there are an average of 2.1 private mobile networks per customer, excluding larger nationwide deployments."

Europe, the Middle East, and Africa is the largest region by number of unique customers, with the bulk of organizations trialling the technology. However, North America has the most commercial deployments. Asia Pacific is the third-largest region, with China contributing a much higher number of hybrid and virtual private networks, which piggyback on public mobile networks, than other markets.

"The success of Citizens Broadband Radio Service spectrum in the US has helped the country become a leader in private mobile network deployments, simplifying the route to market by offering predictable access to spectrum,” said Luke Pearce, senior analyst at CCS Insight.

More than 20 countries now have dedicated spectrum of this sort, and more are expected to release it over the next 12 months. CCS Insight believes this will be a catalyst for further growth.

One of these countries is India, presenting a lucrative opportunity in the enterprise market now that 5G spectrum has finally been given the go-ahead there. Given India's growth potential, it will be a hot market to watch over the next 18 months. CCS Insight also forecasts that deployments in Asia Pacific will grow 68% year-on-year in 2023 and even catch up with North America by 2027. This is because of the former's large addressable market of manufacturing sites.

With a tough economic climate forecast for 2023, there is a concern that the cost of investing in private mobile network infrastructure will prompt some enterprises to delay orders or scale back commercialization. However, CCS Insight believes that private mobile networks will maintain healthy traction given the cost efficiencies they can deliver.

"Geopolitically vulnerable sectors such as power utilities and military and defence present significant growth opportunities in 2023 as they use increased funding to modernize and optimize their communications infrastructure,” said Pearce.

Looking further ahead, total revenue for private mobile network infrastructure is expected to reach a compound annual growth rate of 37% between 2022 and 2027, and rise to $10.5 billion in the same period.