Most process control is done using wired connections to local computers, or Wi-Fi. Wires can’t connect moving things, and they’re hard to maintain if they have to be strung a significant distance. Wi-Fi is great for a hundred feet from a hub, but it’s weak for large areas unless you install a lot of hubs and have a good roaming strategy. It also has both security and QoS concerns. But private wireless got started in these same applications even before 5G, and it’s gotten even more support since. Today, more enterprises believe that private 6G will impact their business than that public 6G services will. That’s because they see their next steps in process automation just expanding on what “local” means.
Private wireless offers a way to connect fixed and mobile things over a larger distance, with better reliability and security. So, almost a third of big process automation users are either already using or testing private wireless, with most committed to 5G. And the preferred model looks a lot like fixed wireless access, FWA. Stick a big antenna up, and you can push out reliable broadband to fixed locations for a mile or even a bit more. You can connect moving stations like trucks, forklifts, and so forth as well. You can support, with a private network, the wires of the past and the mobile connections of IoT’s immediate future, facility-oriented networking.
Running IoT telemetry through private 5G/6G has a potentially significant advantage in security and latency. And, once you’re committed to private 5G/6G connectivity, it’s easy to integrate with public wireless services that can still offer most of the benefits, like security via network slicing and latency management. While this doesn’t guarantee real-time-suitable latency over continental scope, most real-time applications are fundamentally local in nature. Why would a single control mechanism have to direct a truck leaving Los Angeles for a warehouse in New York City? But two in the same city is reasonable to coordinate things like just-in-time (JIT) delivery of product components to a factory.
