WiFi7 or private 5G

stein@opensky

This is the time of year when every self-respecting consultancy company makes predictions for the year to come (i.e. 2026 just now at the start gate) – and, in addition, CES is just finished – so more tech news announcements can be expected soon as well – but from I have seen, CES was disappointing. It was all about gadgets (if that’s of interest to you – but that is also to be expected – it is the “Consumer Electronics Show”). I will not try to predict much myself – but rather than writing long articles about specific themes (which I have done too often recently), I am issuing a set of short commentaries about various topics that have triggered or still trigger me. Here is a very short commentary on WIFi7 or private 5G.

After MWC25 last year, I wrote the following article “Private 5G – Why not there yet?” – which had been a topic at the Congress. It touched upon the differences between internal IT and OT camps, perceived cost issues, simplicity and complexity, security, devices and management aspects – summarizing that a private 5G network can in principle be used by any enterprise, but it is probably most relevant for larger enterprises with a certain production and for industrial automation (OT). Several years ago, I also wrote “Looking for a private 5G network?” – on practicalities on building and managing a private mobile network. In 2022 I also wrote the article “Gigabit indoor 5G – who can do it?” – this one focusing on neutral hosts and indoor public 5G coverage (i.e. more IT than OT).

So back to my trigger points. I recently saw this article from Iwan Stella on “WiFi7 versus private 5G is the wrong question. The real decision is about risk, ownership and migration cost". I fully agree. You may need different approaches for IT and for OT – and, although WiFi is an important technology, indoor 5G coverage is needed in both cases.