Why all the long faces? Some enterprise network vendors believe private LTE/5G networks are making positive inroads in Industry 4.0 spaces, and they have the contracts to show it – they claim. Atlanta-based Future Technologies just issued a press release to announce that it has won “multi-million-dollar” private 5G contracts between Fortune 100 and 500 industrial companies, as well as a $150 million pipeline in new 5G Industry 4.0 private sales. do you see? 2024 will be a year of “growth”. [and] “Future Technologies,” he said.
Future Technologies is in the business of integrating network systems for enterprises; Its own network sales are contingent on third-party components. It works with Nokia and Ericsson, most notably; The new press release highlights its partnership with Intel on an “Intel-based [private 5G] Solutions” too. Its website also lists the likes of AWS, Ciena, Cisco, Dell, HPE, Juniper (HPE; pending), Microsoft, Samsung, and Sierra Wireless (Semtech).
It offers 5G, along with WI-Fi and LTE, whatever fits the bill, as part of an overall Industry 4.0 proposition for integrated design and management. It stressed its position that private cell phones are a complementary connectivity option, mainly to go with Wi-Fi and public cell phones. She added that she also relied on her 25 years of experience in private networks. Its most recent gains – along with Fortune 100 to 1000 companies – have been in US manufacturing.
She declined to name names, but added some color. A recent Fortune 100 customer has secured a private 5G network in a “multi-year, multi-million dollar” deal at a five million square foot (460,000 square metre) production site to enable autonomous mobile robots (AMR) and “drive operational efficiency”. A Fortune 500 customer is enabling Intel Architecture on a private LTE5G network at its production site to enable edge AI use cases.
These include computer vision, connected worker, remote worker, and asset management, as well as connecting manufacturing line devices (CNC, PLC) on cellular routers, the company said. A Fortune 1000 customer operates a critical industrial automation system for material processing on private LTE/5G networks – enabling connected readers, PLCs and digital devices. She said the old outdoor Wi-Fi network had “challenges with interference.”
Future Technologies stated: “Private cellular phones are complementary to existing networking solutions such as wired networks, Wi-Fi, and public cellular phones, and are intended to provide an additional connectivity option… [It represents] Another step in our technology journey with our customers to help them leverage the best of each technology and, in doing so, extend the life of each product by designing the right use case for the right network.
“Future Technologies has been building private cellular networks since 2010 and is very well positioned… to help customers transform their networks for advanced use cases, coverage applications, and IT and OT network convergence,” said Peter Capello, CEO of Future Technologies. With over $150M+ open and growing projects in private networks, we see 2024 as a year of growth to expand our capabilities to a broader range of customers.
“Private wireless architecture running on Intel's architecture and edge AI assets demonstrates the diverse benefits of this successful collaboration and demonstrates the power of future technologies in this market,” said Carolyn Chan, vice president and general manager of Private Wireless at Intel. “Private networking is a growth sector for Intel.” We are happy to see the top 500 companies on the Fortune list adopting it.
