A dedicated LTE/5G network is created within one organization, it is isolated from public mobile networks. All its elements are in a closed loop. Such a network is intended exclusively for solving technological problems. It is a controlled and stable digital data environment. It is resistant to interference, has an increased level of protection, provides high quality communication in premises and territories, allows you to safely use data transmission, video monitoring and video surveillance, remote control, etc.
Projects of dedicated networks in Russia
- Dedicated 5G network in Skolkovo
- Dedicated 5G network in Polymetal
- Dedicated networks at Nornickel's enterprises
Chronicle
2025: SCRF refused to allocate LTE frequencies for industry due to the position of telecom operators
In May 2025, the State Commission on Radio Frequencies (GKRCH) was unable to make a positive decision on the allocation of frequencies for the creation of LTE technology networks ( private LTE) at power and industry enterprises. The reason was objections from mobile operators, in particular Megafon, which fears interference with its commercial networks.
According to CNews, the relevant information is contained in the minutes of the commission meeting published by the Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media. As a result, the SCRC instructed the Ministry of Digital Development and the Ministry of Energy to further work out this issue.
The initiative to allocate frequencies for LTE technology networks was put forward by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Ministry of Energy and the state corporation Rosatom. The agencies based their proposal on the recommendations of the International Telecommunication Union and the provisions of the Telecommunications Industry Development Strategy.
Within the framework of the initiative, it was supposed to allocate frequencies in the range of 2.4835-2.495 GHz to an indefinite circle of people - owners of the infrastructure of the fuel and energy complex, nuclear power and industrial enterprises. The main goal was to ensure production activities, improve the safety of technological processes and accelerate the digital transformation of various sectors of the economy.
According to the publication, referring to a source in the telecommunications market, the power departments and cellular operators opposed the allocation of frequencies for private LTE networks, with Megafon taking the most active position. Company representatives confirmed their objections to the publication, indicating that technological LTE networks in the 2.4835-2.5 GHz frequency band could lead to interference for commercial telecommunications networks. Later, other operators agreed with this opinion, warning the SCRF about the potential risk of a decrease in the quality of communication for subscribers.[1]
2024: The volume of the Russian market for dedicated cellular networks for the year increased to 5 billion rubles
The Russian market for dedicated cellular networks (Private LTE) in 2024 reached a volume of 5 billion rubles, showing a sharp increase. The leading positions in the implementation of projects are occupied by the operators of MTS, MegaFon and Rostelecom. This is evidenced by the data of analysts referred to by the publication "Real Time."
According to the company's analysts, at the end of 2024, the money volume of the private network market in Russia increased by 156%. The jump follows a period of steady annual growth of about 27% in 2021-2023. The agency's analytical forecast assumes that by the results of 2025 the market will increase by 47%, to 7.4 billion rubles. In the medium and long term, a return to sustainable growth rates of 25-30% annually is expected.
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The estimated estimate includes both public and closed projects, the share of which in the total volume can reach 30-40%. The key reason for the sharp growth in monetary terms in 2024 was a significant increase in the average cost of projects with a slight reduction in their public number. If the number of public projects decreased from 25 in 2023 to 24 in 2024, then their estimated cost for the same period increased by 167%.
The total number of commercial and pilot projects implemented since 2018, the information on which is open, reached 162. In their structure, 90 projects are commercial in nature, and 72 are pilot.
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In the segment of exclusively commercial launches, the share of the largest operators is quite high. MTS completed 39 such projects (43% of the total), MegaFon - 37 (41%). Rostelecom accounts for 3 commercial launches (3%). The total share of MTS and MegaFon in the commercial segment exceeds 80%.
The dynamics of 2025 confirms the leadership of two key players. Of the 42 public projects launched over the year, 19 were implemented by MTS (17 of them commercial), and 18 by MegaFon (14 commercial).
The main demand for pLTE technologies is formed by industries with a critical dependence on reliable and secure communication. Among customers of commercial projects from 2018 to 2025 the mining industry dominates - it accounts for 41 projects (46%). This is followed by the oil and gas sector - 14 projects (16%), transport - 11 projects (12%), power - 10 projects (11%) and petrochemicals - 7 projects (8%).
The average cost of projects varies over a wide range. According to experts, in 2024 the market included both compact networks worth 50-90 million rubles, and large-scale infrastructure solutions worth over 200 million rubles. The cost of individual complex projects exceeded 500 million rubles.
Analysts highlighted key trends in market development. In their opinion, the growth drivers are active import substitution and the transition to Russian equipment and software, which is stimulated by state policy. Agency officials point out that networks are increasingly integrating with artificial intelligence and edge computing for real-time data processing, and the future move to p5G will create a platform for new industrial scenarios.
The concept of Private LTE/5G (pLTE/p5G) implies the creation of separate mobile networks for specific enterprises. These networks use dedicated frequencies and isolated infrastructure, allowing the customer to fully control the quality and security of communications. The technology serves as the basis for the industrial Internet of Things (IoT), providing telemetry collection, high-precision tracking of equipment and personnel, as well as replacement of outdated professional radio communication systems.[2]
2023
The Ministry of Energy requested frequencies to create LTE networks at Russian enterprises
On December 4, 2023, the Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation appealed to the State Commission on Radio Frequencies (SCRF) under the Ministry of Digital Development with a proposal to allocate frequencies for building LTE technological networks at enterprises. It is assumed that this will help Russian organizations in the deployment of internal communication and data transmission systems, which, ultimately, will contribute to the development of domestic production.
According to the Vedomosti newspaper, the Ministry of Energy expects to operate the 2483.5-2500 MHz range - in Russia this band is allocated for mobile radio communications. At these frequencies, you can build networks with a small number of base stations to cover, for example, an industrial facility: it can be a building, a production site, etc. That is, we are talking about the possibility of creating private Private LTE infrastructures or specialized IoT systems.
If the SCRC decides to allocate the strip under consideration, it will spread to the entire territory of Russia. In this case, the Ministry of Energy will receive a frequency resource, and then, depending on the needs of specific enterprises, it will be engaged in its distribution. In other words, the assignment of the strip will take place precisely through the Ministry of Energy. Market participants say that if the project is approved, this will become "a precedent not only in Russia, but also in the world."
Yevgeny Devyatkin, director of the research center for promising wireless communication technologies at the Radio Research Institute, emphasizes that before allocating a resource, it is necessary to determine the technical conditions for the functioning of private LTE networks. Such services should not interfere with future mobile satellite networks and existing networks of cellular operators. The fact is that the 3GPP consortium intends to approve the 2483.5-2500 MHz band for the 5G satellite segment and subsequent generations, while the neighboring 2500-2570 MHz band is used by mobile operators.[3]
Sibur abandoned dedicated LTE networks at enterprises due to communication interruptions
At the end of December 2023, it became known that the oil and gas chemical company Sibur abandoned a large-scale project to deploy a dedicated Private LTE network at its production sites. The reason is possible communication interruptions, which is unacceptable at industrial facilities. Read more here.
2022
The Russian market for dedicated LTE networks showed an increase of 20% to 1.5 billion rubles
The volume of the Russian market for dedicated cellular networks LTE created within the same company and isolated from public networks in 2022 reached 1.5 billion, rubles an increase of 20% compared to a year ago in 1.2 billion rubles. Such data in February 2023 led to the analytical agency Oneside.
According to TASS, citing research materials, among publicly announced projects, the largest number of dedicated commercial LTE networks was deployed by MTS - 12 networks, or 37% of all projects on the market. Another 21% was sold by Megafon.
Among the industries in which Private LTE networks were deployed, 30% of projects fell on the mining industry, 18% - on transport, 15% - on petrochemicals, 9% in the context of all projects occupy the oil and gas sector and coal mining, 6% - power, mechanical engineering and power, the report says.
The interest of corporations in private cellular networks did not weaken even after the start of a special military operation of the Russian Federation in Ukraine. For example, in April 2022, the Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works (MMK), in partnership with MegaFon, deployed a 5G pilot zone.
 | The operator is already building a private private network Private LTE at the plant, which will become a springboard for digitalization - the introduction of industrial Internet of things technologies, video analytics and positioning systems, - said Vadim Feoktistov, chief information technology specialist at MMK. |  |
Valery Lutoshkin, Director of the Step Logic Network Solutions Department, says that operators have interest in building Private LTE solutions, but market demand in 2022 was limited largely due to the high cost of such projects. In addition, manufacturers are already accustomed to the fact that their equipment is used in solving niche problems - it will be extremely difficult to rebuild to mass demand, he added.[4]
Global market for dedicated 4G- and 5G networks valued at $2.5 billion
At the end of December 2022, Counterpoint Technology Market Research announced the results of a study of the global private infrastructure market for fourth (4G/LTE) and fifth (5G) generations of mobile networks.
Analysts divide the industry of dedicated 4G/5G networks into seven vertical segments. These are the public sector, production, power and utilities, natural resource extraction, transport and logistics, small and medium-sized businesses, as well as all other areas. The public sector consists of several sub-verticals such as public safety networks, smart cities, health and government, education and defence. The small and medium-sized business segment mainly covers non-industrial areas, for example, office buildings, hotels, shopping centers, entertainment centers, etc.
According to experts, in 2022 the volume of the global market for dedicated mobile networks amounted to approximately $2.5 billion. Most of the projects to deploy private 4G and 5G infrastructures are in developed countries with high GDP, while developing regions are seriously lagging behind. An exception is Latin America, where there are numerous mining-oriented networks (predominantly copper mines).
USA The CBRS (Citizens Broadband Radio Service) strip is actively used for 4G services that do not require maximum data transfer rates, for example, for mobile connection in schools. On the contrary, To Europe the share of private 5G networks that are created with an eye on Industry 4.0 and the development of intelligent enterprises is high. The key use cases for private 5G networks in Europe are auto-managed trolleys (AGVs), autonomous mobile (robots AMR), augmented virtual reality and (/) systems, ARVR diagnostic maintenance, video analytics and asset tracking.
One of the key factors contributing to the development of the global industry of dedicated 4G/5G networks, analysts call the availability of spectrum. Countries such as Germany, France, the United Kingdom and the United States are leading the deployment of private mobile infrastructures, but they all use different frequency bands and different standards. This raises the problem of spectrum fragmentation. There is an urgent need to harmonize the spectrum of private networks, especially between countries in the same region, in particular in Europe.
Starting 2025, 5G Advanced, or 5.5G, technology is expected to drive the market. Its implementation will lead to the emergence of a number of new services and applications. 5G Advanced solutions will drive growth in key verticals such as advanced manufacturing, power, utilities, etc. Experts also predict the wider use of the Network Slicing model, that is, the division of the network into logical layers. This approach allows operators to use the same physical network to provide different services with certain requirements for bandwidth, security, delays, etc. Over time, the Network Slicing concept will become a cheaper alternative to dedicated private networks for some uses.
In general, Counterpoint Research predicts that the global market for dedicated networks 4G/5G expects sustainable development: the CAGR (compound percentage CAGR) until 2030 will be 30.7%. As a result, by the end of 2030, the industry will reach $21.8 billion. At the same time, production will become the largest vertical segment in terms of revenue.[5]
2021: Equipment and Software Market for Dedicated 4G and 5G Networks Valued at $1.7 Billion
The global market for solutions designed to launch and operate dedicated LTE and 5G mobile networks reached $1.7 billion in 2021. This is evidenced by data from IDC analysts released in mid-March 2022. Read more here.
Notes
- ↑ Russian industrialists and power engineers were not given frequency for 4G: Megafon opposed
- ↑ Private LTE market in Russia grew to 7.4 billion rubles
- ↑ The Ministry of Energy asked for frequencies for LTE technology networks at enterprises
- ↑ The costs of the state and business in the Russian Federation for the implementation of M2M and IoT amounted to almost 114 billion rubles
- ↑ Counterpoint Research Forecasts Private Networks Market To Reach $21.8 billion by 2030
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