As businesses across the globe accelerate their digital transformation plans, they're increasingly realizing that fast, reliable network connectivity will be crucial to achieving their goals. According to ResearchandMarkets, the global private 5G network market size is expected to reach $36.08 billion by 2030 at a growth rate of 47.5%. Whether delivering personalized, augmented reality (AR)-enhanced customer experiences in the retail sector or supporting autonomous and remote-operated drilling in the energy industry, private 5G stands to enable a variety of strategic business outcomes. Here's a glimpse at just a few of the private 5G use cases that can advance business innovation in several key industries.
What is private 5G?
Private 5G allows a business to create a private wireless network with higher data transmission speeds, lower latency and more resilient connections than are typically possible with Wi-Fi or 4G. Large companies and public sector organizations can use private 5G to bring a custom 5G experience to indoor or outdoor facilities, where high-speed, high-capacity and low-latency connectivity is required to achieve business objectives.
The benefits of a private wireless network
Private 5G can be a crucial enabler for use cases involving the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI), AR and virtual reality (VR)—all technologies that can place demands on business networks, particularly at scale. Private 5G combined with the right technology solutions can help organizations optimize their operations with informed strategic decision-making, improved internal operations and an elevated customer experience. That’s Enterprise Intelligence!
Private 5G use cases to advance business innovation
Many businesses and public sector organizations across industries are already tapping private 5G for the mission-critical connectivity needed to enable their business processes and objectives. Here's how companies and public sector institutions in the manufacturing, energy and utilities, transportation and retail sectors are adopting private 5G networks for a host of use cases.
Manufacturing
Businesses in the manufacturing sector are leveraging private 5G to accelerate the use of Industry 4.0 technologies—such as the Internet of Things (IoT), AI, AR and edge computing—as they build smart factories that leverage automated and efficient manufacturing processes while leveraging predictive maintenance tools to help reduce downtime. The low latency of private 5G combined with edge computing can provide the network characteristics that are essential for smart manufacturing. Manufacturers are also exploring private 5G use cases for collaborative and autonomous mobile robots, as well as AR/VR and remote operations using digital twin technology.
Energy and utilities
Smart meters and smart grids are among the use cases energy firms are exploring. Private 5G offers the energy and utilities industries even greater potential with regard to near real-time operations, the monitoring of distributed energy resources through digital twins and the enablement of secure and quality services. A private wireless network is also ideally suited for autonomous and remote-operated drilling, intelligent video and drone monitoring, advanced remote industrial robotics and automated guided vehicles, preventative safety alerts, and the use of AR/VR for remote technical support and staff training.
Transportation
Businesses and public sector organizations in the transportation industry are exploring private 5G's potential, especially when it comes to enabling smarter and more convenient public transportation. As urbanization accelerates and climate change concerns become more urgent, 5G-enabled mass transit could point the way to important solutions benefiting passengers and the global community as a whole.
Alternative private 5G use cases for transportation include interactive passenger information, such as trip planners and smart screens. Private 5G could similarly enable smart ticketing systems, semi-autonomous transporters, condition-based monitoring, enhanced worker safety, product quality sensors, end-to-end supply visibility and video-based loss prevention for businesses in the transportation and logistics sector.
Retail
Having already executed ambitious digital transformation initiatives to remain relevant and competitive during the pandemic, retailers continue to deploy innovative technologies to further enhance customer engagement and satisfaction. Whether enabling cashierless checkout, offering connected experiences that integrate online and in-store shopping or allowing customers to use AR to try on clothing in front of smart mirrors, retail companies can benefit from private 5G's high speed, low latency and reliable connectivity to deliver these high-impact, bandwidth-intensive experiences.
Future-ready your business with a private 5G network
Businesses and public sector organizations are under unprecedented pressure to digitize within increasingly compact time frames. As they chart their courses forward, they're realizing that high-speed, high-performance network connectivity is a fundamental requirement for meeting and exceeding expectations in the current climate and beyond. Private 5G can help organizations in a range of industries achieve even the most ambitious goals by making their network infrastructure future-ready and enabling a host of innovative technology use cases involving IoT, AI, AR, and VR. Businesses that familiarize themselves with private 5G's capabilities now can find themselves well positioned to achieve their priorities in the years to come, able to access the full range of technological innovation that a private wireless network makes possible.
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The author of this content is a paid contributor for Verizon.