The Global mobile Suppliers Association (GSA) confirmed that it has identified at least 955 organisations deploying LTE or 5G private mobile networks in 72 countries around the globe. GSA also announced that its Private Mobile Networks Special Interest Group (SIG), formed in 2021 to define the space and track adoption globally, has continued to expand its membership of industry players with the latest addition of Airspan Networks.
Data from GSA's new Private Mobile Networks, December 2022 report reveals growth in the market in the third quarter of 2022, recording a net addition of 66 customers deploying these networks, up from a total of 889 in the second quarter. The research shows there is typically a strong, positive correlation between the number of private mobile network references and countries with dedicated spectrum, with rollouts now in 72 countries and territories globally. Private mobile networks are mainly found in more-developed markets, with USA, Germany, China, U.K. and Japan holding the most references.
This latest report shows that organisations still favour LTE; 5G represents 40.9 percent of private mobile network deployments. It also confirms a wide range of participants are actively involved in developing and delivering solutions for the market. The three fastest-growing industry sectors in the quarter were mining, with 15 new customer references, followed by defence and peacekeeping with 13, and manufacturing with nine. Manufacturing, education and mining remain the three largest sectors for customer references, although this does not represent the actual size and scale of deployments, which vary by user type.
Members of the GSA Private Mobile Networks SIG include Ericsson, Huawei, Keysight Technologies, Mavenir, Nokia and PrivateLTEand5G.com. This month, Airspan Networks confirmed it is joining the group, and more members are expected to be announced for the next update. The group tracks customer deployments from other vendors and invites companies to join its effort to promote the ecosystem and market adoption globally.
The new GSA report Private Mobile Networks, December 2022, available to all GSA Members and Associates subscribing to its GAMBoD service, offers insights on identified pilot and commercial deployments. It includes a full list of organisations rolling out private mobile networks based on LTE or 5G and is segmented by industry, country, network type, technology and spectrum band.
"We're witnessing a steady growth in private mobile network deployments on various levels; in terms of technology, with LTE and 5G both gaining traction, as well as in terms of market reach, with countries all over the world actively deploying the technologies," said Joe Barrett, president of GSA.
"As we see more and more different applications for private mobile networks in various sectors, such as mining, defence and manufacturing, GSA will keep tracking the state of the market and leading the discussion with our Private Mobile Networks SIG. We're delighted to welcome Airspan as the newest member and look forward to welcoming more names from across the ecosystem as the market develops," commented Barrett.