Author: Zhao Xiaofei Original
Siemens Enters the US 5G Private Network Market, Accelerating the Reshuffling of the Global Industrial Landscape
Recently, industrial giant Siemens announced the further expansion of its private 5G business footprint. Building on its coverage across multiple European countries, it has officially included Canada as its first North American stop and plans to enter the US market in the summer of 2026. Siemens claims that enterprise-owned and controllable private 5G infrastructure has become a "core pillar for AI-driven industrial automation."
This move is not an isolated case. Almost simultaneously, Nokia secured a key order in the Canadian mining industry, while the UK government introduced six European private 5G experts through its Open RAN program.
The global 5G private network track has been driven by diversified players from the very beginning. After years of practice, some players have exited the market, while others remain committed to their investments. Coupled with the evolution of AI, they are driving the deep integration of 5G private networks into industrial strategies and supply chain restructuring.
"Cross-Dimensional" Entry and Global Expansion of Industrial Giants
Siemens' entry into the US 5G private network market is a microcosm of its transformation from a globally leading industrial user to a system supplier. This path profoundly reflects a logical trajectory in the development of the 5G private network industry: leveraging deep demand understanding to spawn scenario-tailored solutions.
As early as 2019, at the initial stage of 5G commercialization, Siemens collaborated with Qualcomm to deploy a 5G Standalone (SA) test network based on the 3.7-3.8GHz private network spectrum in Germany for Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs) at an automotive test center. At that time, its role was as a demander and experimenter of cutting-edge technology. By 2023, Siemens launched its full suite of industrial-grade 5G private network systems, covering all components of the core network and Radio Access Network (CU/DU/RU), running on its own industrial PCs. The company claims its 5G private network solution is "OT-grade, compact in structure, and user-friendly," specifically designed for harsh industrial environments. It can be said that Siemens has completed its identity transformation from a demander to a demander plus supplier.
Today, Siemens' private 5G private network systems are sold in over a dozen countries and are about to enter the US. Siemens leverages its advantages in industrial automation and profound understanding of industrial scenarios to provide end-to-end solutions "built by the industry, for the industry." This includes not only hardware but also native support for industrial protocols, seamless integration with its own automation software, and industrial-grade network security assurance. The CEO of Siemens Process Automation pointed out in a speech: "The industrial world deserves a 5G solution that speaks its language."
The case of Siemens reveals a key trend: leaders in vertical industries are leveraging their industry knowledge and customer channels to aggressively enter the communication equipment market, becoming indispensable "industry-level suppliers" in the 5G private network ecosystem. This differs from traditional telecom equipment vendors or operators; it is a demand-side initiated, bottom-up industrial transformation.
5G Private Networks Have Seen Diversified Competition from the Start, but Market Differentiation is Now Very Evident
At the initial stage of 5G commercialization, private networks became a key focus of competition among various parties. Unlike the 5G public network industry ecosystem, which is a "duet" of traditional telecom equipment vendors and operators, private networks have formed diversified camps from the very beginning:
First, the telecom camp, including operators and traditional equipment vendors (Nokia, Ericsson, Huawei, ZTE). Relying on public network operation experience, full-set technologies, and spectrum resources, they provide a full range of services from virtual private networks (network slicing) to standalone private networks.
Second, cloud service and internet giants, represented by AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud. Leveraging cloud computing, edge computing, and software-defined capabilities, they launch pre-integrated, rapidly deployable "turnkey" managed services such as "AWS Private 5G," significantly lowering the technical and O&M thresholds for private network deployment, focusing on convenience and elasticity.
Third, vertical industry giants, with Siemens as a typical example. Starting from their own pain points, they create dedicated solutions highly adapted to their industries (such as manufacturing) and promote them to similar enterprises using existing OT equipment sales channels, achieving deep integration of IT/OT/CT.
Fourth, Open RAN and professional suppliers, such as a group of small and medium-sized professional companies focusing on private 5G RAN or core networks, including Accelleran, Benetel, and IS-Wireless. They leverage open interfaces and standardized testing platforms to try to secure a place in the wave of supply chain diversification.
In terms of technical routes, the development path of 5G private networks is heavily influenced by local spectrum policies, resulting in the paths of standalone private networks and virtual private networks. For standalone private networks, regulatory agencies allocate dedicated spectrum bands to enterprises (such as 3.7-3.8GHz in Germany and 4.6-4.9GHz in Japan), allowing enterprises to build fully physically isolated networks. This path ensures the highest level of control, security, and performance determinism, and is highly favored by large industrial enterprises. For example, Germany has issued hundreds of private network licenses, with Audi, BASF, and Bosch being active users. In contrast, virtual private networks are represented by current practices in China, with advantages in rapid deployment, broad coverage, and full utilization of the existing network scale effects of operators.
Market data confirms the growth. An SNS Telecom & IT report estimates that the global spending on dedicated LTE/5G network infrastructure will have a compound annual growth rate of about 18% from 2023 to 2026, exceeding $6.4 billion in 2026, of which 40% will be invested in standalone 5G private networks. IoT Analytics data shows that the growth rate of IoT connections based on 5G private networks (with a CAGR of 65.4%) is much higher than that of public networks, and is expected to account for 13% of the total 5G IoT connections by 2030.
Although the market is growing, a differentiation trend has emerged among 5G private network suppliers, especially as cloud service providers begin to quietly exit 5G private network services. In May 2025, AWS confirmed that it has stopped selling its 5G private network service launched in 2021. The company stated that spectrum resource limitations and reliance on third-party hardware hindered the service's development, and customers are turning to alternative solutions that better meet their needs. Microsoft Azure also issued an announcement in early 2025, stating that its 5G private network core service will be discontinued on September 30, 2025. To prevent any service interruption, customers are requested to migrate to Microsoft's partner solutions before September 30, 2025.
The reasons are twofold: on the one hand, 5G private networks have not met the initial market scale expectations; on the other hand, AI has become the core focus, significantly crowding out 5G-related resources. Therefore, cloud service providers are continuously exiting this field.
However, the value of 5G private networks remains irreplaceable. In recent years, 5G private network applications have moved from the "periphery" to the "core," with their value initially emerging. Early private networks were mostly deployed in scenarios such as ports, stadiums, and office parks. Today, applications are penetrating the core production links of industrial manufacturing. BMW's world's first AI factory in Debrecen, Hungary, relies on a 5G hybrid network to support real-time communication for nearly a thousand robots and the AI quality platform (AIQX). The private network deployed by Nokia for the Côté Gold mine in Canada is used for the remote control of autonomous trucks and drills, enhancing safety and efficiency. These cases show that 5G private networks are beginning to release irreplaceable value in supporting mobility (AGV/AMR), low-latency control (machine collaboration), massive connections (sensor networks), and integration with AI edge computing. Surveys show that private networks can bring efficiency improvements or cost savings ranging from 20% to 90% in fields such as manufacturing and mining.
Looking ahead, the integration of 5G private networks and AI is becoming a value multiplier. Whether it is Siemens positioning private 5G as a "pillar for AI-driven manufacturing," BMW's AI factory practice, or the "5G private network + AI edge computing for real-time AI applications" emphasized in the collaboration between Verizon and NVIDIA, they all point to the same direction: the high-reliability, low-latency, and large-bandwidth connections provided by 5G private networks are the "digital arteries" for the real-time collection and transmission of massive industrial data and the edge-inference feedback from AI models. The combination of private networks and AI will make advanced applications such as real-time quality control, predictive maintenance, and adaptive production scheduling possible, truly driving intelligent upgrades. Siemens' entry into the US 5G private network market is not just a company's market expansion, but also a manifestation of the global 5G private network industry entering a new stage of deep competition and integration.