GSA says private mobile network deployments top 2,000

GSA says 2,003 organisations worldwide are now deploying one or more private mobile networks, the first time its count has passed 2,000.

The industry group's latest data shows those deployments span 88 countries and cover LTE and 5G networks with contract values above €100,000. Reported customer references have grown at a compound annual growth rate of 37% since 2019.

The figures point to continued expansion in enterprise mobile networks used by businesses, industries and government bodies for dedicated operations. GSA defines these systems as 3GPP-based 4G LTE or 5G networks for the sole use of private entities, with a dedicated network core as the minimum requirement.

Manufacturing remained the largest sector by number of deployments in the dataset, followed by education and academic research, then mining.

That mix reflects demand from organisations using private networks for industrial automation, testing and mission-critical work. The data also indicates that 5G is taking a larger share of new projects, accounting for more than half of deployments announced since 2022.

Geographically, the market remains concentrated in richer economies. The United States, Germany and the United Kingdom led the rankings, with deployments largely clustered in high-income and upper-middle-income countries.

Spectrum link

The figures show a strong link between private mobile network adoption and the availability of dedicated or shared spectrum. That adds to a long-running industry argument that regulatory decisions on spectrum access shape how quickly private wireless projects move from pilots to broader roll-outs.

GSA also highlighted how much of the market remains outside public view. On average, 76% of the customer references in its database are non-public and unique, submitted by members of the GSA Private Mobile Networks Special Interest Group.

In some sectors, the share is even higher. More than 80% of references in military and defence, maritime and power plants are not publicly accessible.

That means the published total relies heavily on data supplied confidentially by member companies, rather than only on announcements by customers or vendors. GSA says this provides a broader picture of activity in a market where many end users do not disclose their network plans.

GSA counts customer references as unique organisations or government entities deploying one or more 3GPP-based 4G LTE or 5G networks in a given country. For most of the dataset, those references cover contracts worth more than €100,000.

From May 2024, the database also began counting contracts worth between €50,000 and €100,000, some of which may include trials. Data in that lower-value band is relevant only from 2024 and is intended to filter out small demonstration deployments while capturing a broader part of the market.

Market visibility

The private mobile networks group within GSA now represents 17 companies, including suppliers, industry bodies and wireless specialists. Contributing members that shared complete or partial deployment information for the dataset included 450Alliance, Airspan, Celona, Ericsson, Mavenir and Nokia.

Joe Barrett, President, Global Mobile Suppliers Association, gave further detail on the latest count and the composition of the database.

"GSA has collated information about 2,003 organisations known to be deploying LTE or 5G private mobile networks, passing 2,000 for the first time. As the report clearly shows, a large number and varied range of market participants are actively engaged in developing and delivering solutions for private mobile networks. With so much opportunity, and so many regulators planning initiatives to make spectrum available for LTE and 5G private usage, we expect significant market developments over the next couple of years. Crucially, over three-quarters of the references included in the GSA database underpinning this report have been provided by members of the Private Mobile Networks SIG on the basis of anonymity, and information for these references will generally not be found in the public domain. We believe this makes this global data the most comprehensive, independent and verifiable available to the industry today," said Joe Barrett, President, Global Mobile Suppliers Association.

The figures underscore how private LTE and 5G networks have moved beyond niche industrial tests into a broader market spanning factories, campuses, mines, ports and public sector operations. Even so, the concentration in countries with favourable spectrum access suggests expansion still depends heavily on national regulatory frameworks as much as on enterprise demand.

By the end of the first quarter, GSA had identified 2,003 organisations across 88 countries, with manufacturing continuing to account for the largest share of deployments and 5G making up more than half of deployments announced since 2022.