By Patrik Lundqvist, Qualcomm
As MFA (MulteFire Alliance) supports the adoption of private 5G, we actively engage with industry experts such as ABI Research to better understand the current market scope and key industry participants.
Below we’ll take a look at specific enterprises that ABI Research found would benefit from MulteFire and 5G NR-U (5G New Radio in Unlicensed) private wireless technology:
Industrial Manufacturing
In the wake of industry 4.0, production processes are becoming more complex and the number of machines and components requiring connectivity are steadily increasing. Because of this, reliability and network availability are of high importance, and 66 percent of manufacturers favor private network deployment scenarios, according to the report.
Use cases include motion control, mobile control panels and process automation. These machinery use cases demand unique low-latency requirements that private 5G networks can provide. Further, private 5G networks will help prevent valuable production losses due to network unavailability. As manufacturers look to address these performance requirements, ABI Research forecasts that the Total Addressable Market (TAM) for private network equipment in industrial manufacturing will grow to US $15.06 billion by 2030.
Ports & Logistics
In shipping ports and logistics environments, the requirements for automating processes are strict, and the operational benefits gained from automating these workflows are large. These processes could include the remote operation of ship loading cranes and real-time operation of Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs) and Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs).
Deploying private 5G networks in these environments will strengthen network reliability and help enable the latencies they require. Real-world deployment scenarios, such as the port of Hamburg and the Shanghai Yangshan Port in China prove that automating workflows can reduce port operation costs by 70% and boost the Quality of Service.
Mining & Energy
The mining and energy industry has a particularly hazardous environment. The main benefits of automation are to reduce potential exposures for manual workers and create safer, more efficient workflows. Cellular networks on these sites are used for mission-critical communications, and a simple loss of network signal could cause major disruptions to the entire site’s operations. Consequently, network reliability and availability are of critical importance, and operating a private onsite cellular network will provide confidence in network integrity and performance. ABI Research studies find that the private network equipment market in mining and energy is expected to increase from US $116.86 million in 2020 to US $8.13 billion in 2030.
Realizing the robust opportunity for private 5G, MFA looks forward to supporting 3GPP 5G NR-U technology and offering its expertise to enterprises looking to deploy their own private 5G network.
For a more detailed look at enterprise 5G deployment, spectrum availability and enterprise use cases, we encourage you to read the full ABI Research white paper.
