Private networks have moved past the question of whether they work. The questions that now shape budgets and contracts are more practical: what results do deployments deliver, how quickly do they go live, what do they cost, and where are the long poles in the plan? The TeckNexus Private Network Intelligence Report answers those questions every quarter.
The Q3 2026 edition covers July, August and September. It draws on 114 curated updates from the TeckNexus Private Network Monthly Insights archive and 14 case studies from the 2026 Private Network Leadership Awards. The free edition is available to download now, and a members’ edition adds the full data annexes.
Why this report tracks value, not volume
Counting deployments tells you a market is growing. It does not tell you whether a design will cover your factory with fewer radios, how much installation will cost, or how long spectrum and approvals will take. This report focuses on the figures that change a decision: outcomes measured in operational units, time to value, disclosed spend, the size of real deployments and the policy changes that open or close options.
Every figure carries one of four labels: Enterprise, when the deploying organisation reported it; Vendor, when a solution provider reported it; Public, for government and regulator records; and Research, for independent analysis. That makes it easy to weigh each number before it goes into a business case.
Key findings from Q3 2026
- Private 5G needed 7 to 12 times fewer radios than Wi-Fi. One 5G radio replaced seven Wi-Fi access points in a Salzgitter steel hall, and Cargill needed about 5 access points in a large open space where a Wi-Fi refresh needed 60.
- Costs came in 50–67% lower in every Cargill comparison. A small warehouse cost about $40,000 against $95,000 for the comparable option, a corn mill came in at about a third of the comparable wireless cost, and two roof-mounted access points replaced $50,000–60,000 of fibre at about half the cost.
- Outcomes are being measured in operational units. At Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany, Federated Wireless reports 98% inventory accuracy, 65% higher goods velocity, 55% lower labour cost and 99.9% uptime across one million square feet.
- Ports are reporting performance and sustainability gains. BT and Ericsson report that the Port of Tyne network runs 10 times faster than standard 4G with 13 times the energy efficiency per gigabyte, and lets the port reconfigure major sections several times a year.
- Radios move in weeks; approvals take years. Cargill turned up two to three sites a week at peak, while one US university waited two years and nine months for a spectrum decision.
- Policy is moving from rules to volume. The Netherlands reached 59 private 5G permits in its reserved 3.5 GHz band, and China set a target of 50,000 industrial private networks by 2030.
What the numbers mean for buyers and suppliers
Taken together, Q3 shows that private network economics are decided as much by design, lifecycle and installation as by equipment price. A network that needs a seventh to a twelfth of the radios and lasts nine to ten years, against a three-to-five-year Wi-Fi refresh, changes the comparison before any outcome is counted. The report’s buyer moves turn that into practical steps: compare designs on radio count, price the lifecycle, define outcomes in operational units and start the slow work on spectrum and approvals first.
For solution providers, the quarter shows which proof points carry weight. The strongest figures were specific, measured and tied to a named site, such as MCLB Albany’s warehouse results or Salzgitter’s radio count. Those are the numbers buyers are now asking for.
What’s inside the report
Free edition (7 pages): key findings, outcomes, six buyer moves and the methodology.
Members’ edition (16 pages): everything in the free edition, plus time to value, money, scale and the policy clock across nine markets, and three data annexes: a stat ledger with a linked source for every figure, a register of 43 named Q3 deployments and their delivery partners, and a benchmark worksheet for your own business case.
Who the report is for
Solution providers, integrators and operators use the report to see where the market is producing measurable results, which proof points buyers will recognise, and how their own case studies compare. Enterprise teams planning or expanding a private network use it to set realistic expectations for coverage, cost and timelines, and to prepare sharper questions for partners. Investors and analysts use it as a sourced snapshot of how private networks are being bought and run.
How the report is built
The report is built from the TeckNexus Private Network Monthly Insights archive for July, August and September 2026 and the 2026 Private Network Leadership Award case studies. Every link in the members’ stat ledger was confirmed before publication. Figures appear as reported by the organisations involved, including approximations. Currencies are not converted.
Have measured results from a deployment? Feature them in an upcoming edition through the 2027 Private Networks & Industrial AI program: Contact Us
The TeckNexus Intelligence Platform is buyer-neutral and TeckNexus-authored. Vendor co-branded Intelligence Packs are labelled as such and kept separate from the neutral core tools.
