A report at the end of 2023 found that a total of 2,900 private LTE or private 5G networks were active around the world. The analysts from Berg Insight included both trial and pilot deployments, according to the IoT Business News. The deployments are moving along and shows the progress of trial periods that began in 2020 or 2021 that have since finished. They found that around 700 had moved from a trial to a full commercial operation, while trials still were nearly half of the total of private network rollouts.

The report also found that the projected growth rate of 33% would cause there to be a total of nearly 12,000 private networks by 2028. The number of trial periods will also decrease as cooperation increases to see how other companies have utilized their own trial periods. As private networks become mainstream, the growth will continue apace.

Berg Insight also found that Nokia is the single largest deployer, totaling 635 networks. The principal analyst of the report noted that the three major vendors – Ericsson, Nokia and Huawei all play a large role, but are constantly being pushed by smaller vendors as well. These smaller vendors are able to put pressure on the large operators to continue to innovate or risk being left behind by newer models. 

Fredrik Stalbrand, principal analyst for Berg Insight, noted, ““The vendors increasingly pursue channel-led sales strategies, and have developed ecosystems of mobile operators, system integrators, VARs and consulting partners to bring solutions to market.”

As time passes and more companies begin to scale up their operations, the number of private networks will continue to grow. The past few years have been critical in the trial phase to discover how useful the new technology could be. As we go into the future, the next phase will become a trial of its own. A trial to determine if success can be replicated at an even grander scale.