by Andrew Seger
Velaspan entered the prediction game these past few years, offering our best bets in Q1 then checking back a few months later to see how we fared.
To date, predictions have been specific to WiFi and cybersecurity, the $220 billion industry on the brink of a landmark year. However, private cellular is another WiFi-adjacent technology to watch. The private 5G (p5G) market is set to hit $3.5 billion in annual global spending by 2027, and Velaspan’s own experience reflects this ascent. Interest in our managed private cellular services is growing, putting us in close contact with industry peers and leaders as well as qualified private cellular customers. Combined, they fuel our…drumroll…four 2025 private cellular predictions:
Prediction #1: Decline in Private 4G/LTE
2025 marks the first year in which new private cellular networks are more likely to be 5G than private 4G. Previously, private 4G led the game mostly due to availability of 4G sensors, tablets, and other devices. Now the 5G device ecosystem is catching up. Most p5G systems today are deployed as standalone configurations enabling enterprises to get long promised 5G benefits including higher throughput, lower latency, and advanced quality of services (QoS) delivered by network slicing.
Prediction #2: Private 5G Will Challenge WiFi 7
WiFi continues its reign as the de facto connectivity solution, with no end in sight. However, p5G should begin to incrementally supplant it for specialized applications in complex environments as enterprises become more aware of the limitations associated with legacy WiFi standards.
Despite WiFi 7’s efforts to finally address these limitations by bringing several key improvements to the new standard, limited WiFi 7 device support leaves p5G standing alone, ready to meet the challenge today. Stay tuned!
Prediction #3: Open Source Drives Managed Services
Today, cellular network equipment ranges from refrigerator-sized proprietary packing core and a closed RAN ecosystem to open RAN systems supported by open source cores – and plenty in between. This variety allows for flexibility and capability at a price point that’s in reach. Open source is consequently likely to hit a fever pitch in 2025.
Some backstory: As of relatively recently, open source options allow managed service providers to mix and match their own systems for enterprise customers, offering unique, best of breed, [DB1] differentiated features. Open RAN cores, particularly those based on open source projects, offer more cost effective and flexible solutions with the ability to tailor features capable of addressing specific customer needs. Any resulting complexity can be overcome by quality managed service providers like Velaspan who specialize in network management.
Prediction #4: Satellite Private 5G Backbone Networks Take Off
If you have a view of the open sky, there’s a good chance you have access to quality internet connectivity. Combine this with private 5G for a rapidly deployable, large scale enterprise mobility network.
We expect 2025 to bring about an increase in such p5G deployments, temporary or permanent, which rely on non-terrestrial satellite networks to bring connectivity to remote areas, or areas otherwise lacking permanent infrastructure.
In sum, our team here at Velaspan predicts that in the year ahead, private 5G will continue its slow but steady climb. With 5G standalone supplanting LTE as the de facto cellular standard, taking small bites out of the WiFi 6/7 market, leveraging flexibility offered by open source managed services, and integrating with satellite internet, it is poised to revolutionize thousands of industrial enterprise networks and, we dare say, start to redefine the future of connectivity.
Want to explore how private cellular can fit into your enterprise? Reach out to Velaspan today to schedule a private half-day workshop. Learn more about the technology, identify use cases within your organization, and leave with a preliminary system design for your unique environment.
