Five industrial use cases that pay back a private network

A private network pays back through what runs on it. The use cases decide the design, the spectrum, the devices and the business case. Here are five we see most often in industrial projects, with what each needs from the network and where the return comes from.

1. Autonomous mobile robots and AGVs

What the network must deliver: seamless handover across large halls and yards, consistent latency, and a reliable uplink for navigation data.

Where the return comes from: flexible production layouts without re-cabling, and fewer stoppages caused by dropped connections. John Deere is moving its Davenport Works factory from 70% wired Ethernet to 80% cellular connectivity for this kind of flexibility.

2. Remote inspection and expert support

What the network must deliver: high-resolution video uplink, predictable performance inside metal-heavy buildings, and secure access for remote experts.

Where the return comes from: customers and experts take part without travelling. At Lufthansa Technik in Hamburg, live 5G borescope inspections have identified scratches as small as 0.3 mm, and inspections that once needed weeks of planning can now be arranged at short notice.

3. Connected workers and safety

What the network must deliver: coverage indoors and outdoors, push-to-talk and data on the same network, and SIM-based identity.

Where the return comes from: one network for voice, data and lone-worker safety, in place of separate radio systems.

4. Asset tracking and over-the-air updates

What the network must deliver: wide outdoor coverage, high device density and support for low-power IoT.

Where the return comes from: assets in yards and car parks can be tracked and updated without running fibre and power to each spot. Tesla has described using private 5G in Berlin to update hundreds of cars parked outside.

What is changing: RedCap (reduced capability) 5G brings lower-cost, lower-power 5G sensors, trackers and tools. Samsung and Hyundai Motor Company completed a RedCap trial over a private 5G network in 2025, a sign that affordable 5G devices for this kind of use case are arriving.

5. Video analytics and remote control of equipment

What the network must deliver: many simultaneous HD camera streams, low latency for remotely controlled equipment, and edge computing.

Where the return comes from: safer remote operation and higher throughput. At the East-West Gate terminal in Hungary, container handling rose from 23–25 to 32–35 moves per hour, with personnel operating costs down 40%.

From use case to business case

Each of these needs a different mix of coverage, capacity and latency, and each delivers value in a different place in the P&L. Our 5G ROI business case and enterprise use cases design services turn that mix into numbers your board can approve.

Examples link to their public sources.