Who Wins from Private 5G?

In most cases, edge computing and private network growth will go hand-in-hand. The point of the private networks (often using either 4G or 5G) will be to reduce the latency of sensor data and allow faster processing of raw data to glean insights. That will often also be directly related to process control and use of internet of things sensors.  

Faster process control response will typically also require local processing, which means more edge computing, either onboard devices, on the premises or at some close external location. The more latency-dependent the use case, the more likely the computation and analysis will occur on premises. 

And in many industry verticals, the more-predictable response from private 5G  is one reason why 5G enterprise use cases are expected to drive a disproportionate share of incremental 5G revenues from new use cases. 

Many in the edge computing, cloud computing, internet of things and 5G ecosystems will gain revenue. 

So private 5G networks are expected to be a growth industry, but the issue remains “who gains” and “how much?” As with past private networks, such as local area networks, revenue gained by connectivity service providers is one thing; revenue for others in the ecosystem is quite another matter. 

Private networks create direct markets for devices, Wi-Fi chipset suppliers and router suppliers; system integrators and distributors. Connectivity providers gain indirectly, from some positive impact on broadband access accounts or the spending on such accounts.

source: 5G Americas 

In the case of 5G private networks, much of the revenue will be gained by infrastructure suppliers, though some incremental revenue also will be earned by suppliers of 5G public network connections or broadband access services. 

Much of the connectivity revenue is possibly going to be earned by dedicated low-power-wide-area service providers, as well. Some 5G service providers will be more active as system integrators. 

And it remains possible that some 5G service providers will be significant application providers in a few industry verticals, such as the automotive industry and autonomous vehicles, terrestrial and aerial.  

It also will be nearly impossible to separate the value--and spending on--edge computing from spending on 5G private networks.