Industry Checkpoint: private networks, Q1 2026

This edition of the Industry Checkpoint series focuses on private networks, highlighting how the market has changed in the last six months and its implications. The report considers how momentum continues to build behind operator deployments of private networks; how focus is growing on private networks for mission-critical industries; and how energy and utilities are seeing new developments in spectrum allocation for private networks.

This edition of the Industry Checkpoint series focuses on private networks, highlighting how the market has changed in the last six months and its implications. The report considers four major developments: telecoms operators upping their offerings through managed services; private networks solutions increasingly being tailored for edge AI applications; private 5G's growing role in public safety infrastructure; and the accelerating momentum of private networks in military and defence.