Why industrial giants are betting on enterprise private 5G
August 27, 2026
The adoption of enterprise private 5G is accelerating, with the global market projected to reach $30 billion by 2030. Industrial giants are betting on this technology to provide the reliability required for energy, mining, and manufacturing. For instance, major automotive manufacturers are already deploying private 5G networks to replace legacy Wi-Fi, reporting up to a 20% increase in operational efficiency by minimizing downtime.
In a sign of how the technology has grown, “physical AI” is a growing use case. Physical AI relies on massive, real-time data streams generated by predictive-maintenance sensors and autonomous mobile robots. Without the deterministic, low-latency, high-device-density provided by private 5G, these AI models cannot process data quickly enough to make split-second decisions. Private 5G serves as the essential nervous system for physical AI, ensuring that latency-sensitive feedback loops remain uninterrupted. This is critical for high-stakes operations, such as collision avoidance for mobile robots or the precision movements required by automated robotic arms.
Rakuten Private Networks is a complete enterprise private 5G solution based on the company’s pioneering open RAN technology. In this blog post, we’ll provide an overview of enterprise private 5G, along with the highlights of the Rakuten Private Network solution.
A primer on enterprise private 5G
Dedicated cellular networks are now being deployed for the exclusive use of enterprises, industrial facilities and other organizations. These private 5G networks serve factories, warehouses, mines, ports, airports and energy facilities with ease. Organizations gain greater control over their network coverage, capacity, performance, security and data sovereignty.
An enterprise private 5G network uses many of the same building blocks as a public cellular network, including a 5G radio access network (RAN), 5G core network, spectrum and SIM-based device authentication.
The RAN provides wireless coverage for connected devices, while the 5G core manages network functions, data traffic, security and connections to enterprise IT and operational technology (OT) systems.
Enterprise private 5G is designed for applications that need predictable performance. Features such as low latency, high reliability, deterministic quality of service (QoS) and 5G network slicing allow network resources to be assigned according to the requirements of different applications.
Security is another important benefit of enterprise private 5G. SIM-based authentication ensures that only authorized devices connect to the network, while private spectrum and traffic isolation provide additional control over how data is transmitted and where it is processed.
Organizations can also deploy a 5G core on edge servers so that sensitive operational data remains on premises rather than traveling across a public network. These capabilities make enterprise private 5G particularly relevant for industrial IoT, enterprise AI and IT/OT environments where cybersecurity, data sovereignty and operational resilience are important requirements.
Enterprise private 5G is also becoming an important connectivity platform for enterprise AI and edge computing. AI applications such as predictive maintenance, automated quality inspection, computer vision, autonomous mobile robots and physical security generate large amounts of data that may need to be processed in real time at the edge.
An enterprise private 5G network provides the secure wireless coverage, mobility, low latency, device density and predictable network performance needed to move that data between sensors, machines, edge computing infrastructure and AI applications. In this role, enterprise private 5G becomes more than another wireless network: it provides a communications foundation for connecting AI, IoT and automation to physical operations.
Rakuten Private Networks is a complete enterprise private 5G system
Rakuten Private Networks provides a complete solution that meets the needs of enterprise use cases. The solution has three main components:
Radio access system for 4G/ 5G. Available in high, mid and low power for a wide range of radio coverage options. Rakuten has built a global portfolio of radio units (RU) that integrate with the radio access system to deliver high performance.
Core Edge system that can be deployed from an appliance or from the cloud, and that provides an interconnect to the IT / OT environment.
Management and orchestration software that provides the services needed to drive the autonomous operation of the whole system.
High performance with low latency
Rakuten Symphony’s high-performance radio access system, combined with a wide range of open RU’s, delivers superior RF coverage. The system can be configured to operate both indoors and outdoors, eliminating potential RF dead zones. The system is made secure with a zero-trust architecture and the use of private SIMs, private spectrum and the ability to isolate data traffic, so it isn’t exposed to external threats.
The system offers both deterministic low latency of 15ms. This low latency is competitive with wired networks and supports all real-time applications.
Connectivity is another mandatory requirement for industrial private 5G to support IoT sensors used within a manufacturing facility. The Rakuten Private Network solution can connect up to 1 million IoT sensors per square kilometer, which supports the expansion of monitoring sensors and the use of novel IoT devices such as smart glasses and body cameras.
Total cost of ownership has been a stumbling block for enterprise private 5G networks due to high operating costs. But the Rakuten Private Network system offers advanced management and automation that enable it to autonomously detect and resolve issues before they become problems.
The power of our Celona partnership
To offer a complete solution for heavy IoT-based industrial applications, Rakuten Symphony has partnered with Celona Systems to deliver a fully managed, end-to-end open RAN-based enterprise private 5G system for Internet of Things (IoT) sensor-driven use cases.
Customers can now build a completely integrated solution that combines Rakuten Symphony’s enterprise-scale cloud-native 5G open RAN infrastructure with Celona’s 5G LAN enterprise platform. Pre-integration is a major benefit of the combined solution, enabling customers to achieve faster, more seamless deployments across use cases.
Future-proof your operations
Industrial organizations are constantly striving for better manufacturing and operations efficiency to keep their competitive edge. This means more sensors, cameras, AMRs and other devices – all of which need to communicate. Enterprise private 5G networks are a vital foundation for high-capacity, low-latency connectivity that supports these efficiency initiatives. Through its pioneering technology and strategic partnerships, Rakuten Symphony wants to become your choice for enterprise private 5G.
Schedule a call with Rakuten Symphony today to find out how Rakuten Private Networks can bring the enterprise private 5G advantage to your organization:
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