Market research shows main growth in neutral host networks will be from industrial, rather than public space, deployments
Boldyn Networks, the neutral host company, has closed its acquisition of Cellnex’s private networks business unit. The deal was announced last November.
Notably, it includes Edzcom, a Finnish firm that pioneered the design, build and operation of private 4G and 5G networks for enterprises in manufacturing, transport hubs, oil and gas, energy generation, and mining industries.
Boldyn claims the acquisition positions as a key player in the private networks market and widens its portfolio of wireless solutions.
More than 50 private networks
With this acquisition, Boldyn gains a portfolio of more than 50 private networks in Finland, France, Germany, Spain, Sweden and the UK. It also moves Boldyn’s closer to its overall 5G strategy goals, with the former Edzcom team becoming part of Boldyn’s Group Strategy team.
Igor Leprince, Group CEO of Boldyn Networks, said, “By bringing Cellnex’s private networks business unit under the Boldyn umbrella, not only are we acquiring additional expertise, but growing our capability to interconnect the most complex environments.”
Justin Berger, Group Chief Strategy Officer for Boldyn, called the acquisition “a perfect addition…as we strive to provide more top-tier connectivity to power industrial transformation.
“We’ll increasingly see bespoke private networks enable 5G use cases. Like enterprise automation, advanced robotics, video surveillance, smart IoT devices working in large areas, employee safety, and many others. Private 5G networks provide secure connectivity to unlock new services and the ability for customers to control and monitor the network in real time.
“We can’t wait to contribute with developing more 5G use cases that can drastically improve efficiency and productivity across many sectors.”
Right on the money?
A recent study by ABI Research predicts that revenues from neutral host connectivity will reach $1.3 billion by 2030. Interestingly, it forecasts 65% of that total to come from industrial manufacturing, logistics including warehousing and energy generation.
This signals a shift away from previous scenarios that were expected to drive the market, such as campuses, shopping malls, office complexes, stadia and other public venues like transport hubs.
Leo Gergs, Principal Analyst for Enterprise Connectivity and 5G markets at ABI Research,
said demand for neutral host networks is driven by higher energy prices and constrained budgets, which in turn are driving digitalisation and encouraging enterprises to outsource their corporate network infrastructure to a neutral host or managed services provider.
ABI Research only talking about connectivity revenues from neutral host networks. Last November, ResearchandMarkets predicted the wider, global neutral host market will reach $8.7 billion by 2028. It expects neutral hosting for private enterprise and industrial solutions will combine Wi-Fi6, LTE and 5G.