The News: Nokia and Verizon surveyed around 100 senior and IT decision-makers in the transportation and logistics industry using Morning Consult. The survey targeted gaining insight into the potential use cases, perceptions, and business impacts of private wireless networks in the transportation and logistics industry. Read the full blog post from Nokia here.
Nokia and Verizon Shine Spotlight on Key Private Wireless Use Cases: Transportation and Logistics
Analyst Take: Nokia and Verizon conducted a survey with Morning Consult to better understand the potential use cases, perceptions, and business impacts of private wireless networks in the transportation and logistics industry. Through the survey, Nokia and Verizon seek to highlight the key benefits of investing in private wireless networks and what is driving decision makers in their purchase considerations and usage of these services.
Among the key takeaways in the survey was the fact that 60% of respondents cited secure and reliable connectivity for operation-critical communications as a major benefit of private wireless. The ability of private wireless to help monitor operations in real time and respond swiftly to critical events was identified by 58% as another key advantage of the technology. Private wireless also contributes to enabling real-time and uninterrupted monitoring of the status of equipment, assets, and infrastructure (cited by 55%). Plus, by using the latest technologies to improve situational awareness and control remote-staffed and unstaffed areas, port and airport authorities can advance worker safety and wellness.
Moreover, 98% of senior and IT decision makers feel confident that there will be a role for private wireless networks in their business in the future, and notably 39% plan to upgrade their wireless technology in the next year. As such, the addressable market for private wireless is already sizable in the near term, with substantial broader opportunity built into the long term.
The survey results confirm that private wireless is an integral pillar in the fabric of transportation and logistics networks. Today, private wireless spectrum is available in many countries. For example, in Japan, Germany, and the UK, private spectrum is available only for 5G. The global private 5G market size was assessed at $1.61 billion in 2022 and is projected to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 51.2% from 2023 to 2030, according to Grand View Research. Accordingly, the 5G private network market segment is poised for significant growth and aligns with my conversations on the overall direction of the private wireless market toward more private 5G adoption.
As such, I find Verizon’s private 5G service offering, On Site 5G, solidly positioned to expand its presence and influence across the private 5G ecosystem by delivering a secure, scalable wireless network in full alignment with the flexible network capabilities of Verizon 5G Ultra Wideband. Verizon can customize On Site 5G to fulfill the facility arrangements and operational requirements to ensure predictable, consistent coverage and bandwidth for business-critical applications and services.
In most other countries, LTE/4.9G spectrum is made available, such as the Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) in the US. The FCC-sanctioned CRBS approach uses spectrum that is shared with other organizations, and I anticipate this approach can serve as a template for other countries to emulate as spectrum resources become increasingly sparse.
Today, private wireless networks based on LTE/4.9G will support up to 85% of industrial use cases. Already there are over 6,800 LTE-enabled non-phone form factor devices as well as a diverse spectrum of industrial systems that have built-in LTE/4.9G modems. From my perspective, 5G private networks adoption will pick up new momentum when reduced capability (RedCap) 5G technology, solidified in 3GPP Release 17 last year, start paving the way for standardized implementations across 5G networks towards the end of 2024.
Through RedCap capabilities, the private 5G wireless ecosystem, including chipmakers, equipment providers, service providers, and enterprises, can take full advantage of 5G standalone capabilities that can accelerate the applications that need substantially more bandwidth and responsiveness.
From my view, Nokia’s Digital Automation Cloud has a demonstrated track record in meeting the distinct private wireless requirements of the transportation and logistics market segment including ports, airport networks, highways, and railroads. Nokia’s DAC delivers the real-time monitoring of operations and asset tracking as well as other key capabilities such as geo-positioning of vehicles, IoT sensor analytics, and remote operations that organizations are prioritizing in their private wireless implementations.
Specifically, Nokia’s Q1 2023 earnings report demonstrated robust growth for its private wireless network customer base with 595 customers now powering 1,500+ mission-critical networks across the transportation and logistics segments of the industrial market including airports, mines, ports, and utilities.
Key Takeaways: Nokia and Verizon Spotlight Private Wireless Transportation and Logistics Use Cases
Overall, I believe Nokia and Verizon have the portfolio resources and market vision key to helping move the market needle in broadening and advancing the adoption of private wireless networks across the transportation and logistics industrial market segments. From my perspective, key data points including Nokia’s private wireless customer base, ecosystem-wide support for private wireless devices and technology, and the market growth potential in key segments such as 5G private networks, all point in that direction.
Disclosure: The Futurum Group is a research and advisory firm that engages or has engaged in research, analysis, and advisory services with many technology companies, including those mentioned in this article. The author does not hold any equity positions with any company mentioned in this article.
Analysis and opinions expressed herein are specific to the analyst individually and data and other information that might have been provided for validation, not those of The Futurum Group as a whole.
Other insights from The Futurum Group:
Nokia Fiscal Q1 2023: India 5G, Optical, and Enterprise Shine
Nokia Elevates Energy Efficiency as Essential to Entire Portfolio Vision
MWC 2023: HPE Shrewdly Acquires Athonet to Bolster Overall Private 5G Fortunes
Author Information
Ron is an experienced, customer-focused research expert and analyst, with over 20 years of experience in the digital and IT transformation markets, working with businesses to drive consistent revenue and sales growth.
Ron holds a Master of Arts in Public Policy from University of Nevada — Las Vegas and a Bachelor of Arts in political science/government from William and Mary.
