Question:
LMT has been at the forefront of 5G innovation in the Baltics. How do you see private 5G evolving across Latvia and the broader region over the next few years?
Karlis Vilciņš (Head of Systems Integration Business, LMT):
I think we are just at the beginning of the journey, of course.
From our perspective, the main growth segments will align with what we see globally — ports and logistics are very clear and straightforward areas where there is already a strong business case for private 5G.
Just a few weeks ago, we launched another private 5G network in Latvia, this time at a sawmill. Even though it’s not a high-volume manufacturing site, it still presented a very strong use case. We have several similar projects that are now growing rapidly.
We believe manufacturing will become a major driver of private 5G adoption in our region — not only for high-end production facilities, but also for medium-sized and traditional manufacturers seeking more efficiency and automation.
Another area with huge potential is agriculture. Labor costs are rising, and many farms are introducing robotics for cattle management, seeding, and harvesting. We’re seeing automated and connected systems, including AGVs and autonomous equipment, becoming increasingly relevant.
As system integrators, part of our role is to help identify and apply private 5G solutions across these diverse industries — finding the right fit between technology, operations, and business outcomes.
Another promising development is the distributed core network. Together with Druid Software, we are working on solutions that allow multiple smaller cores to be deployed across the network. This architecture brings strong competition to enterprise-level wireless systems — particularly Wi-Fi — offering greater reliability, flexibility, and scalability.
We believe distributed 5G cores could become a cost-effective and high-performance alternative for a broader range of customers.
However, the availability of spectrum will play a crucial role in enabling this. In Latvia, we currently use our own licensed frequencies, as there is not yet regulation for open or shared spectrum. In contrast, other countries in the region are beginning to open up local or private frequency bands, which we expect will significantly accelerate development.
