Private 5G connections to grow 65.4% annually until 2030

The latest 5G IoT & Private 5G Market Report 2024-2030 by IoT Analytics forecasts that private 5G connections will experience significant growth until the end of the decade. According to the report, private 5G connections are expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 65.4% and will constitute 13% of the total 5G Internet of Things (IoT) connections globally by 2030.

As of 2023, there were 1.28 million private 5G IoT connections worldwide, representing 5% of the 25.6 million 5G IoT connections. The report predicts that private 5G connections will surge to nearly 107 million by 2030. This burgeoning growth is attributed to the enhanced security and control offerings of private 5G networks, making them especially appealing to industries such as healthcare and non-industrial facilities.

The report also delves into the key use cases and regional growth areas for private 5G. It identifies five significant use cases: remote control of assets, facility connectivity and coverage, logistics automation through automated guided vehicles (AGVs) and autonomous mobile robots (AMRs), camera-based facility surveillance, and asset inspection using augmented reality (AR) glasses. The regions poised for substantial private 5G growth include China and Europe.

Satyajit Sinha, Principal Analyst at IoT Analytics, provided insights into the factors driving this growth. "China's strategic approach to 5G, encompassing both industrial and non-industrial applications, has propelled its global leadership," Sinha stated. "A strong hardware ecosystem and government backing have accelerated deployment. Meanwhile, the US and Europe face hurdles in industrial adoption, primarily due to high capital expenditures and a shortage of dedicated industrial 5G devices and sensors. As the availability of these devices improves, we anticipate a more rapid global expansion of private 5G networks across diverse industries."

Additionally, the report highlights China's and Europe's significant roles in the proliferation of private 5G. With an emphasis on non-industrial facilities and campuses such as ports and office buildings, the regions are expected to see robust growth in private 5G deployments. This strategic focus is expected to drive the number of private 5G connections to new heights over the coming years.

The insights from the report indicate that private 5G networks will play a critical role in various applications, including the remote control of assets where it ensures low-latency and high-reliability communication. For facility or campus connectivity and coverage, private 5G offers superior, dedicated network performance compared to public 5G. Logistics automation, using AGVs and AMRs, can benefit from the high-throughput and secure communication facilitated by private 5G. Furthermore, camera-based facility surveillance and AR-based inspection can be conducted more effectively and securely using private 5G networks.

As the private 5G landscape evolves, these insights from IoT Analytics underscore the potential for transformative changes across multiple sectors and regions. Companies in healthcare, logistics, and facility management are among those that could benefit significantly from the adoption of private 5G, given its numerous advantages over traditional wireless communication methods.