By Mazen Chmaytelli, MulteFire Alliance President
As the world grapples with the impacts of COVID-19 upon our everyday lives and social distancing becomes the norm, the case for automation in the workplace becomes more business-critical than ever. Automation in factories, ports, and other industrial IoT venues will require a robust wireless connectivity that is made possible by the MulteFire Alliance.
MulteFire technology takes cellular-based technology and defines it in unlicensed and shared spectrum. This lets business owners easily create, own and deploy their own private LTE-based wireless network and gives their in-house IT department more control over the network and its operations. According to Gareth Owen, Associate Research Director at Counterpoint Research, MulteFire “will be a critical enabler allowing enterprises to deploy LTE private networks without the involvement of an MNO in unlicensed regional and global spectrum bands.” MulteFire operates in the global unlicensed 5 GHz band so it can be deployed everywhere in the world, in every market, without having to deal with the complexities of negotiations with regulators in every jurisdiction.
For business-critical scenarios, LTE technology offers the security, high-performance, reliability and low latency requirements needed for day-to-day operations. Businesses are beginning to see the value of private LTE technology as it enables automation, increases efficiency and improves worker safety for industrial verticals, such as mines and factories, that connect heads-up cameras, autonomous vehicles, advanced machinery, smart connected tools, wearable sensors and protective equipment.
An RnRMarketResearch report found that private LTE networks are becoming the preferred approach to deliver wireless connectivity for critical communications, industrial IoT, enterprise and public venues. Its research predicts private LTE networks will continue an upward trajectory, with a CAGR growth rate of 19% between 2020 and 2023. Similarly, Global Market Insights’ research report found that the private LTE network market size is expected to surpass $19 billion by 2026. These numbers have been echoed by many industry experts and reports.  Our industry liaison partner, the Global Mobile Suppliers Association (GSA), released a recent report that is tracking developments and progress of private LTE and 5G networks.
With the current boom of the private LTE market, the MulteFire Alliance looks forward to continuing to enable its members and the industry to implement private LTE and 5G based solutions. With added spectrum support in the latest MulteFire 1.1 specification, the MulteFire Alliance will continue to provide a secure, scalable solution for private wireless deployments across the globe for business-critical use cases.
