Private LTE set to step out into the spotlight

With the increasingly global adoption of LTE/4G technology, greater opportunities for private LTE networks are emerging. According to ABI Research, by 2025 those sectors using private LTE will create a market worth $16.3 billion – a CAGR of 45 per cent since 2018. ABI defines a private LTE network as one that is built for a specific use case; a local network that uses dedicated radio equipment to provide service to a limited area. Of course, private communications networks are nothing new – closed networks have been in use by many verticals, including public safety, the military and transport sectors for decades. They typically rely on narrowband networks such as TETRA or P25 for their voice and some data capability, and use dedicated and licensed spectrum. Although reliable and secure, the narrowband bearers are designed primarily to carry voice, and are not candidates for a world where activities need powerful data connectivity. The sectors which are looking at private networks now are much more complex environments, where people and processes need to interconnect, where machines are controlled by cloud applications, and where critical procedures need the capability of broadband networks.