Although growth in 5G private networks in Italy has been slow so far, a new report from the 5G & Beyond Observatory says it has potential.
The 5G & Beyond Observatory warns that this growth will only happen if 5G becomes the standard for industrial connectivity in the next few years. If the market is instead limited to tests and re-purposing of existing networks, the private network market may only be worth €40 million.
Elsewhere in the European Union, the report identifies 71 examples of private 5G networks in the fields of manufacturing, logistics and transport. However, none of these networks was identified as “business ready” by the Observatory, hinting at the fact that the market has not yet matured.
The report also says that 5G coverage is very high in Italy, with operators covering between 96-99.7% of the population. However, this coverage is heavily reliant on dynamic spectrum sharing (DSS) which accommodates less advanced applications than stand-alone 5G. Non-DSS 5G networks in the country only cover 7.3% of the population.
