Global private LTE, 5G deployments cross 2,000 enterprises across 88 countries

GSA has published its latest Private Mobile Networks report, showing continued growth in enterprise LTE and 5G customer deployments. By the end of 1Q26, GSA had identified 2,003 organisations worldwide deploying private mobile networks with a contract value above €100,000, spanning 88 countries.

Customer references have grown at a compound annual growth rate of 37% since 2019, with on average 76% of these references being non-public and unique, submitted by members of the GSA Private Mobile Networks Special Interest Group (SIG). This number is higher for some industries, with more than 80% of references in sectors such as military and defence, maritime and power plants not accessible in the public domain.

Manufacturing continues to be the leading sector by number of deployments, followed by education and academic research and mining, reflecting the importance of private networks in industrial automation, testing and mission-critical applications. 5G adoption is increasing, accounting for more than half of deployments announced since 2022.

Geographically, deployments are concentrated in high- and upper-middle-income markets, with the United States, Germany and the United Kingdom leading. A strong correlation persists between private network adoption and the availability of dedicated or shared spectrum, reinforcing the role of regulatory frameworks in shaping market development.

Joe Barrett, President of Global mobile Suppliers Association, commented: “GSA has collated information about 2,003 organisations known to be deploying LTE or 5G private mobile networks, passing 2,000 for the first time. As the report clearly shows, a large number and varied range of market participants are actively engaged in developing and delivering solutions for private mobile networks. With so much opportunity, and so many regulators planning initiatives to make spectrum available for LTE and 5G private usage, we expect significant market developments over the next couple of years. Crucially, over three-quarters of the references included in the GSA database underpinning this report have been provided by members of the Private Mobile Networks SIG on the basis of anonymity, and information for these references will generally not be found in the public domain. We believe this makes this global data the most comprehensive, independent and verifiable available to the industry today.”

GSA Members and Associates can find full details of allocation of dedicated private network spectrum and a list of organisations deploying or piloting private mobile networks in an annex, provided as an Excel attachment. GSA will be publishing further statistical updates covering the private mobile sector during the rest of 2026.

CT Bureau