Industrial Cellular Routers

The Industrial Cellular Router research report delivers current market analysis plus a five-year market and technology forecast.  The report is available in multiple editions including worldwide, all regions, and most major countries.

5G and Private Wireless to Fuel Continued Cellular Penetration

As the capabilities of cellular technology increase in areas such as 5G and private wireless, industrial cellular applications are migrating beyond legacy service to remote access and backup network failover to increasing consideration as a primary communication medium.  Traditionally confined largely to outdoor applications, cellular is also increasingly considered for indoor applications, particularly for private installations.  

The global pandemic has elevated the need for remote access capabilities as well as integration of locations that lack conventional network infrastructure.  Cellular is the technology of choice for enabling increasingly important applications in personnel tracking and safety, empowering the remote expert and connected worker, and reducing the need for field service personnel.  Cellular technology is also well-suited for use in the growing number of mobile, remote, and outdoor applications, both in industry as well as transportation, Smart Cities, and public safety. 

Ongoing improvements in cellular technology, including introduction of 4G LTE, 5G, and private wireless networks, are escalating the technology’s disruptive effect relative to alternatives.  5G and private wireless both promise significant incremental connectivity performance improvements that meet the needs of enabling technology concepts, such as Industrial IoT, Industry 4.0, and edge computing, as well as the shift toward increased automation and autonomous operations.  Use of alternative connectivity technologies, including CBRS in North America and WiFi 6 worldwide, will offset this potential.  

Private 5G networks will require dedicated infrastructure buildouts, increasing the investment cost and extending the installation timeline.  Suppliers are still awaiting 5G component availability, including those that meet the important low latency Release 16 spec, plus Industrial 5G devices will represent significant initial price premiums relative to 4G.

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Industrial Cellular Router Market Strategic Issues

In addition to providing a five-year market forecast, the Industrial Cellular Router market research provides detailed quantitative current market data and addresses key strategic issues as follows.

Strategic Issue for Buyers: Balancing Escalating Connectivity Options

The potential inherent in emerging 5G, CBRS, and private wireless solutions, coupled with connectivity advancements in other areas such as WiFi 6, TSN, SPE, and APL, is broadening the spectrum of available connectivity solutions that could drive incremental or even disruptive improvements in your use cases.  Evaluate the current and potential role of cellular technologies in your digitally transformed architectures, including assessment of the potential for 5G, 4G LTE, and private wireless to deliver incremental operational improvements relative to existing wireline strategies.  Keep in mind the anticipated availability timeline for your target solution, particularly given the forecast that widespread and cost-effective 5G solutions could be several years out.

Strategic Issue for Vendors: Preparing for Disruption

Industrial cellular routers suppliers need to plan for potentially significant supply-side disruption due to increasing availability of alternative networking technologies and new competitive entrants.  Market interest in both cellular and private wireless, including CBRS, are contributing to an expanding field of potential competitors.  Current and prospective market participants must assess the role of cellular technology in your overall network infrastructure portfolio.  Given the hype surrounding 5G and private wireless, have a plan for how to respond to customer interest in these emerging areas and a stated path for helping customers migrate to both 5G and private wireless.  Anticipate the need for significant customer education regarding the suitability and potential of 4G LTE, 5G, and private wireless, particularly among new adopters.

Suppliers must also recognize and respond to the increasing role of software and services in the connectivity realm, including centralized management capabilities in service of performance, security, and scale.  Legacy cellular providers are focusing their development efforts on cloud and subscription offerings to competitively differentiate and bolster customer stickiness, while multi-line providers are incorporating management of cellular networks into their overlaying network management architecture.  The hyperscalers are also extending their reach to the industrial edge not only in search of data, but also in pursuit of executing analytics, AI/ML, AR/VR, and similar applications at the edge.

Strategic Issue for Everyone:  The Increasing Role of Cellular in Digitally Transformed Architectures

Improvements in cellular technology are driving increased consideration as a primary communication medium relative to its historical use as network backup and failover and offline remote access and monitoring.  Market acceptance of 5G, 4G LTE, and private wireless networks is escalating the technology’s disruptive effect relative to alternatives, including WiFi.  5G and private wireless both promise significant incremental connectivity performance improvements that meet the needs of Industrial IoT, Industry 4.0, and edge computing, as well as the shift toward increased automation and autonomous operations.