The outlook for private wireless remains mixed

Private wireless networking is one of the few bright spots in an industry struggling through a slowdown in operator spending and a wave of AI-driven job cuts.

Indeed, research firm SNS Telecom & IT predicts private wireless will enjoy annual growth of 20% to reach $6 billion in total spending by the end of 2027.

But companies in the private wireless networking market continue to scramble to gain traction. For many, the fabled “inflection point” in the private wireless industry – the point at which enterprises start spending real money on wireless networks – remains out of reach.

“The private wireless market faces some headwinds in a stricter investment environment with higher interest rates and generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) taking mindshare and resources away from private network projects,” analyst Kyung Mun, with Mobile Experts, told Light Reading. “Across the thirteen verticals we track, the market grew in the mid-teens last year, but the growth is not uniform across industry segments.”

Others agree that the sector remains in flux.

“The enterprise is a very large and mostly untapped opportunity,” noted analyst Stefan Pongratz, with Dell’Oro Group, in a release. Indeed, the firm recently reported that revenues from the sale of private wireless radio access network (RAN) equipment jumped 24% in the second quarter of 2024.

But Pongratz said it will take “some time” for the private wireless market to grow big enough to offset an overall slowdown in spending among big public wireless network operators.

Others see the glass half full. For example, Slalom’s Jason Inskeep told Light Reading that the noise around AI could accelerate interest in private wireless rather than detract from it. “With new tech options like AI and GenAI, enterprises are increasing their consideration of private networks and the most mature ones are looking at private networks in context of all advanced networking options they can take advantage of,” said Inskeep, a former private wireless networking executive at AT&T who last year moved to consulting firm Slalom.

Inskeep added that private wireless networking opportunities are growing in vertical markets such as warehouses, industrial sites and oil and gas facilities.

Broadly, many believe the private wireless opportunity will eventually mature.

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