Verizon Business extended the reach of Ericsson’s Private 5G platform to network deployments outside of the U.S., a move that bolsters the carrier’s position within the evolving private network ecosystem.

The extension allows global enterprises already using the Ericsson service via Verizon Business in the U.S. to stretch those services to their international campuses. While not specifically stated, this is likely to come through the use of unlicensed or quasi-licensed spectrum assets in those foreign countries.

"Verizon Business is proud of our expanding private wireless portfolio, and we’re committed to providing the best possible private wireless experience to our customers around the world," Robb Juliano, VP of 5G acceleration at Verizon Business, noted in a statement. "By extending the availability of Ericsson Private 5G outside of the U.S., we’re offering enterprises more flexibility in driving innovation, enhancing security, and optimizing operations with private wireless networks on a global scale."

Verizon has been a long-time backer of private 5G networks and has at times linked their deployments toward bolstering AI opportunities in edge environments.

“I think that many, together with me, believes that a lot of the genAI applications that's going to be enterprise driven, they're going to sit at the edge of the network because of transport costs, security, and privacy, many companies, like Verizon, you want to have it [on-premises], whatever you have, you want it [on-premises]. That could be a third party, but still it's going to be our data centers,” Former Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg said during an investor conference last year of this link and opportunity. “I think this hangs together all the way from private 5G network and edge computing.”

Gartner recently tagged Verizon as one of the market’s leading private mobile network providers, touting the carrier’s ability in tapping their established 4G LTE and 5G network assets to power private network services. However, that ranking also noted vendor-based offerings from the likes of Ericsson and Nokia have powered market innovation.

“Verizon covers enterprise segments by leveraging [radio access network] and packet core technology solutions from Celona, Ericsson, and Nokia,” Gartner noted as a strength for Verizon, as an example. “It addresses midsize to global enterprises as well as the public sector, leveraging all major OEMs: Ericsson, Nokia, and Celona.”

Ericsson’s position is based on its long-time presence in the private network space, with the vendor having scored both self-deployed deals and agreements with telecom operators, including past work with Verizon.

Manish Tiwari, head of enterprise 5G at Ericsson, told SDxCentral in an interview earlier this year that the private 5G market has shown clear use cases, the potential for a return on investment, and that it has a place in the enterprise market, “so that part at this point is not questionable. It’s proven.”

Tiwari laid out a trio of deployment models that were developing in the market, including one where an enterprise with an international footprint is looking for a provider versed in dealing with broader deployment challenges. Those biggest challenges include country specific regulatory and spectrum issues, with work typically handled by global systems integrators (SIs), or now with Ericsson’s latest expansion work with Verizon.

Private network market remains in flux

Verizon’s Ericsson expansion also comes as Nokia has pulled back its private network ambitions. The vendor, which Gartner linked to more than 1,500 private mobile network sites worldwide, shifted investments away from what was often touted as a robust market position, admitting instead that the space has been plagued by slower-than-anticipated enterprise traction and that the vendor was perhaps not in the best position to drive further growth.

“The reality today is, more often than not we're competing with our customers versus partnering with our customers and telcos,” Nokia CEO Justin Hotard said during a press briefing on that move. “I've shared this sentiment with multiple customers as I've met with them since I started, my objective is not to compete with our customers. I want to partner with them. And the decision that we made … to move that business to portfolio companies so that we can focus on the enabling technology and allow our customers to then intervene, whether that's with consumer, which is obviously the largest portion of their business today, enterprise, we believe will be the biggest opportunity for them tomorrow.”

ABI Research in a recent report that touched on Nokia’s move, predicts that action could prove lucrative for the broader market.

“Consolidation will bring private cellular closer to the enterprises and vertical-specific solution providers capable of embedding connectivity within comprehensive, end-to-end digital transformation offerings,” the report noted. “These players will understand what enterprises are predominantly interested in: use cases, outcomes, and business impact. To that end, they will be able to integrate the private cellular infrastructure as the connectivity layer into their existing network of partnerships with vertical-specific application developers, and device manufacturers to create a more impactful and stronger value proposition for private cellular.”