Private 5G for Smart Manufacturing: Lessons from Early Real-World Use

Factories in Europe, the U.S. and Asia are now running live production over private 5G networks, moving beyond pilots and lab tests. Early deployments in automotive, semiconductor and logistics sites show that the technology works, but only when the basics are done well: careful radio-frequency planning to cope with metal surfaces and moving machines, a clear spectrum strategy, and close integration with operational technology. Many plants found that industrial devices are still catching up with 5G, with antenna design, firmware readiness and mobility for robots often limiting scale more than the network itself.

The main financial gains come not from cheaper connectivity, but from new automation: mobile robots, real-time video analytics, condition monitoring and flexible production lines. Private 5G sits alongside, not instead of, Wi‑Fi and Ethernet, which remain important for office devices and ultra-critical systems. Successful factories treated private 5G as part of their automation architecture, not as a standalone IT project. That required tighter OT integration for deterministic latency, stronger cybersecurity governance around SIM and device identities, and better alignment between IT, OT, telecom and safety teams. Where those foundations were in place, private 5G improved reliability and unlocked new workflows; where they were not, performance and ROI suffered.