Private 5G networks remain a highly coveted market opportunity valued in the billions-of-dollars, but platform shortcomings and inconsistent levels of maturity continue to slow broad adoption.

A recent survey-based report from analyst firm CCS Insights highlighted early benefits gleaned from initial private network deployments.

The firm found that two-thirds of enterprises that were early adopters of private networks “reported productivity improvements as a direct result of operating a private LTE or 5G network, with 55% achieving a return on investment in less than two years.” Those surveyed noted that they selected private 5G over a Wi-Fi solution due to “improved coverage, security, reliability, and network performance.”

That return on early adoption has also been noted by other firms.

ABI Research in a report last year found that private networks are finding a willing audience among manufacturing firms, “which are overwhelmingly integrating private cellular solutions into their operations.”

“Private cellular networks are rapidly becoming the backbone of manufacturers’ digitization strategies, offering unparalleled control, reliability, and scalability,” ABI Research Principal Analyst Leo Gergs noted. “As manufacturers across industries increasingly look to modernize, 4G and 5G networks are at the forefront of this transformation, shaping the future of operational efficiency and connectivity.”

Gergs did explain that 4G LTE remains the “more mature and widely deployed” technology platform, but “5G is on the horizon, poised to revolutionize the sector with its promise of lower latency, higher speeds, and greater network capacity.”

SNS Telecom & IT found a similar 5G-focused surge, predicting that close to 60% of the forecast $6 billion in private network investments by the end of 2027 will be “directed toward the building out standalone private 5G networks.”

“This unprecedented level of growth is likely to transform private cellular networks into an almost parallel equipment ecosystem to public mobile operator infrastructure in terms of market size by the late 2020s,” the research firm stated.

Who will drive private networks?

However, CCS Insights also noted that “the lack of fully integrated, off-the-shelf 5G solutions continues to hinder scalability and limits the technology’s potential across industries,” and a continuing lack of market maturity “remains a barrier.”

“Respondents emphasized the need for easier, integrated solutions,” CCS Insights’ Luke Pearce wrote. “One interviewee noted, ‘we don’t see many off-the-shelf fully 5G integrated solutions available to us. We shouldn’t have to build this capability. We want to buy it off the shelf.’”

This lack of integration can be attributed to the number of entities attempting to gain a foothold in the space. Analysts have noted that enterprises looking to deploy a private network are having to weed through a maze of carriers, equipment providers, and system integrators (SIs), all touting their market advantages.

Verizon is one of the more bullish private network carriers, with CEO Hans Vestberg having for years touting the opportunity and how private networks are core to its operations.

“Our core products on mobility, broadband, and private networks are at the center of people's lives and businesses,” Vestberg proclaimed during the carrier’s most recent earnings call.

Vestberg said the carrier “had a great quarter in private networks,” highlighting deals it had signed with Xerox, Cummins, and major sport leagues. “Our private networks business is growing and full of long-term contracts with the best partners around the world,” Vestberg said.

However, segment vendors think operators are missing the boat.

Celona CEO Rajeev Shah this week explained that service providers have not focused on true enterprise needs when it comes to private networks.

“The private networks market has not had too many people looking at it purely from an enterprise perspective,” Shah said. “I think it's been a set of players whose roots are still in the telco, who are viewing the enterprise as a new growth vector as opposed to a set of players whose bread and butter is the enterprise.”

Celona itself does have a vested interest in that sentiment as it recently announced a deal with Alcatel Lucent Enterprise to partner on providing a private 5G platform to enterprises. However, Celona has also worked with wireless operators to bolster their carrier-branded private network offerings.

What’s next for private 5G wireless?

That divergent approach encapsulates the current private network space.

Dan Hays, a partner at consulting firm PwC, said the recent Mobile World Congress (MWC) event in Barcelona showed “there was notably less noise about private networks than there has been the last few years,” adding, “I think that they've become an accepted model, but one that still is kind of a little bit unproven in its value proposition.”

Gergs professed a slightly more positive message, though tinged with hints of challenges that remain to be addressed.

“The private 5G market is still in its infancy, with significant hurdles to overcome,” Gergs wrote. “Yet, for those who have invested, the returns are clear: transformative productivity gains, cost savings, and enhanced operational capabilities. For vendors, the message is equally clear: simplifying deployment, addressing ecosystem gaps, and demonstrating real-world return on investment will be critical to driving broader adoption.”

Shah said that he has seen the market “pick up over the last 12 to 24 months,” and expects that momentum to continue for several years.

“These type of industry transitions, in my experience, typically take five to eight years,” Shah said. “I suspect we are in year two of such a transition, … so I think we have five to seven years of great growth ahead of us.”