Private networks are steadily gaining traction as operators, enterprises, and private providers explore the opportunities that cloud-native solutions bring. A dedicated private network introduces enhanced connectivity and the potential for new revenue streams, whether through better voice solutions or products and offerings. But deploying a successful private network is no easy task. It requires the right solutions, both at the core and the edge of the network, the right partners and the right use case.
At ng-voice, we believe the key to private network success lies in embracing cloud-native principles. By definition, a private network is designed to give the end customer greater flexibility and agility in their connectivity solution, enabling them to push the boundaries of their business and embrace new technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to increase their productivity. By moving to cloud-native principles when building and deploying private networks, operators, enterprises and private network operators can enable this agility and their end customers can benefit from the many opportunities that this will unlock.
Mobile Private Networks (MPNs) are designed for specific use cases in designated regions and utilize 4G or 5G cellular technology. While data use cases were the initial focus of MPNs, demand for voice use cases is growing, especially in mission-critical applications.
According to a study by CMI (Custom Market Insights)[1], the Global Private 5G Network Market was valued at USD 1.45 billion in 2021 and is projected to reach USD 41.80 billion by 2030, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 49.7% between 2022 and 2030. Enterprises are leveraging the capabilities of 5G technology to enhance existing operations or introduce new product offerings for additional revenue streams. However, 4G technology remains a viable option, depending on the use case.
Private networks offer significant advantages over technologies like Wi-Fi 6, providing better coverage, reliability, flexibility and security. Some enterprises have been deploying private networks for decades, mainly in the form of Wi-Fi, but the shift to 4G/5G cellular technologies offers enhanced benefits. For example, 5G’s Ultra-Reliable Low Latency Communications (URLLC) feature supports real-time control systems, autonomous vehicles and augmented/virtual reality (AR/VR).
Industries managing critical services, such as healthcare, public safety, construction, manufacturing and mining, require a secure and reliable network with always-on connectivity and guaranteed Quality of Service (QoS). Reliable voice communication is essential in these sectors, especially where constant and clear communication is necessary.
In healthcare, reliable communication between personnel is crucial, particularly when lives are at stake. For example, IoT applications like ventilators can initiate calls to medical personnel based on certain triggers, such as a patient's heart rate exceeding a threshold.
Another common use case is Push-to-Talk (PTT) over Cellular (PoC), where users communicate by pressing a button on a phone to talk—much like a walkie-talkie. The phone indicates when it is ok to speak, and the user releases the button after speaking. The PTT Application Server communicates with an IMS, ensuring guaranteed resources in the network for speech transmission. Network resources are only allocated when a user is speaking, making it an efficient solution for industries where constant communication is necessary, such as public safety, security, construction, manufacturing and mining.
Enterprises may also deploy private networks with emergency calling capabilities. ng-voice’s IMS recognizes emergency calls based on a pre-configured list of numbers and prioritizes them, routing calls to either a private emergency center or a Public-Safety Answering Point (PSAP). ng-voice’s IMS is compliant with regulatory standards for emergency calling, including those in the EU and North America.
In addition, VoWiFi (Voice over Wi-Fi) capabilities can be integrated to enhance enterprise voice services in environments where Wi-Fi is prevalent, providing an additional layer of flexibility and voice connectivity.
For enterprises looking to upgrade from traditional technologies like Wi-Fi, 4G and 5G cellular networks offer several key advantages. These include better coverage, enhanced reliability, flexibility in deployment and improved security. With features like URLLC in 5G, private networks can support more sophisticated use cases, such as real-time control systems, autonomous vehicles and augmented or virtual reality applications.
While 5G is often seen as the future of private networks, 4G technology still provides sufficient capabilities for many use cases, making it a viable option, particularly where 5G infrastructure may not be fully available or necessary. The market growth of private networks reflects this growing adoption, as more enterprises are implementing mobile private networks (MPNs) to support their operational needs.
One of the main challenges in private networks is their smaller scale compared to the public ones, which typically serve a much larger number of subscribers. Private networks can vary in size, from just a few dozen to several thousand subscribers, and making these small networks commercially viable requires solutions that are low-cost and low complexity, both in deployment and operation.
Private network solutions need to be scalable, allowing enterprises to expand capacity as their needs grow, but they must also be simple to deploy and maintain. For instance, Intel® NUC Mini PC deployment showcases this scalability. An Intel Core i5 processor, 16 GB RAM and 1 TB storage are sufficient to serve several thousand subscribers using a minimal footprint, making it an efficient, low-cost solution for private networks.
At the core of enabling these advantages is ng-voice’s cloud-native IMS solution, which is designed to make voice services in private networks economically viable. The solution is fully containerized and cloud-native, ensuring scalability, efficiency and cost-effectiveness for both 4G and 5G private network deployments. By embracing containerization, the IMS solution allows resources to scale up or down depending on the needs of the network, making it ideal for enterprises of all sizes.
Automation is embedded throughout the delivery of voice services, reducing human intervention and the risk of service disruption. This also makes managing IMS applications easier and more efficient. Furthermore, ng-voice’s cloud-native IMS solution is cost-effective due to its deployment model and cloud-native technologies, which deliver the quality required for mission-critical applications while lowering costs.
In private networks, minimizing resource requirements is key. The diagram below illustrates how ng-voice’s cloud-native IMS solution reduces the resource footprint compared to legacy solutions, resulting in up to 80% reduction in Total Cost of Ownership (TCO).
Artificial Intelligence helps to keep operations straightforward, providing automated lifecycle management through full CI/CD flow, in-service scaling (up and down) and auto-healing. For enterprises managing critical services—whether in healthcare, public safety, or industrial settings—the combination of secure, reliable voice communication and lower costs is a major advantage. By reducing the resource footprint and leveraging automation, ng-voice’s IMS solution helps private networks achieve operational savings while ensuring high-quality service.
To learn more about ng-voice’s cloud-native IMS solution for private networks, visit our website or contact sales@ng-voice.com.
ng-voice is a Germany-based telco software provider, dedicated to revolutionising voice production in 4G/5G networks for both consumer and IoT use cases. Our flagship product - the Hyperscale IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystem) Solution - is infrastructure-agnostic, cost-efficient and fully automated. Being 100% containerised (with a container size of less than 25MB) and Kubernetes-based, our offering is ready to deliver VoLTE and VoNR with up to 80% lower total cost of ownership (TCO), very fast deployment times and simplified lifecycle management. Whether you're a small operator or a Tier1, ng-voice is the perfect partner to help you explore new revenue opportunities and future-proof your networks.
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/ngvoice
Web: www.ng-voice.com
Contact: sales@ng-voice.com
Footnote: [1]: https://www.custommarketinsights.com/report/private-5g-network-market/
