Industrial Facilities to Expand 5G Connections with Over 49 Million by 2030

By Chad Cox

Production Editor

Embedded Computing Design

August 22, 2022

News

5G Networks are a need in automation, robotics, and augmented reality. 

A new study from ABI Research’s 5G Private Wireless in Manufacturing  reveals that in 2030 worldwide industrial facilities will have more than 49 million 5G connections within their systems.

“Progressive advancements to network performance (from Wi-Fi to Long Term Evolution (LTE), and from LTE to 5G) can underpin improvements to customers’ operations. But to maximize the benefits to their operations, customers will need to invest in ancillary technologies, such as edge networking, data management, and data analytics, to accelerate data collection and create a digital thread,” says Michael Larner, Industrial and Manufacturing Research Director at ABI Research.

Due to the absence of 5G industrial devices within facilities, manufacturers’ have turned their interests to 5G private wireless in turn dissuading hardware developers from creating essential devices. Equipment vendors, such as Nokia, launched converged devices supporting Wi-Fi, LTE, and 5G connectivity.

Suppliers need to showcase the attributes of a 5G network and prove how a 5G network can upgrade operations. “The lack of 5G devices is a genuine drag on adoption, but suppliers (telcos such as Nokia, Ericsson, NTT), Information Technology (IT) providers (HPE, DXC, Dell Technologies), Operational Technology (OT) specialists (Bosch, Siemens, Honeywell) and System Integrators (SIs) such as Accenture and Deloitte) should be working with prospective customers to educate them today about 5G’s potential,” Larner concludes.

Chad Cox. Production Editor, Embedded Computing Design, has responsibilities that include handling the news cycle, newsletters, social media, and advertising. Chad graduated from the University of Cincinnati with a B.A. in Cultural and Analytical Literature.

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