- SNS Telecom & IT says CBRS-based private networks are seeing steady investment
- About 40% of the private networking market in the U.S. is served by CBRS
- Nokia is still pursuing CBRS deals despite uncertainty around its Enterprise Campus Edge unit
Despite what seems like a never-ending stream of proposals to disrupt the Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) shared spectrum framework, SNS Telecom & IT continues to see consistent investments in CBRS-based private networks.
The research group recently published the 2026 edition of its private 5G report and database. SNS tracks more than 1,200 CBRS (3.55-3.7 GHz) projects in its database of private cellular engagements.
Efforts to disrupt CBRS in the past include a proposal to move the band to another part of the spectrum, which would be hugely upsetting to the entire ecosystem. Lately, proposals to raise the power limits in the 3.5 GHz band have been the most imminent in terms of threats to the shared spectrum regime.
But spending continues and SNS Telecom says transaction activity in both licensed and unlicensed arenas are at one of the highest levels since the initial release of Priority Access Licenses (PALs).
This year, SNS expects annual CBRS network investments in private networking to reach about $350 million, SNS 5G Research Director Asad Kahn told Fierce. That compares to annual CBRS network investment figures of $252 million in 2024 and $302 million in 2025.
Large-scale, multi-site deployments are becoming commonplace, from Cargill's private 5G network that’s operational at more than 65 facilities to Marathon Petroleum Corporation’s private LTE/5G-ready infrastructure rollout across 12 refinery sites, he said.
In other sectors, he observes a domino effect happening, with aviation being a prime example.
Following the implementation of a private network at Miami International Airport, scaled-down networks are being deployed at four general aviation airports in Miami-Dade County to support applications such as video surveillance and automated ground operations. The county also plans to deploy private networks at several passenger cruise terminals in and around Dodge Island in Biscayne Bay.
In terms of total spending, about 40% of the U.S. private wireless networking market is served by CBRS, according to SNS Telecom.
However, in terms of the number of operational networks, the share for CBRS is closer to 80%, given that many of the smaller CBRS networks comprise as few as one to 10 small cells with contract values of under $100,000. That’s compared to, for example, sub-1 GHz wide area private networks for utilities, where the typical contract value is anywhere from $30 million to $100 million.
What’s Nokia doing in CBRS?
Nokia was an early proponent of CBRS. Fierce wondered if its decision last year to move its Enterprise Campus Edge (ECE) unit into a portfolio business position was affecting its activity in CBRS nowadays.
Khan said he expects to hear a final decision about the fate of Nokia’s ECE business unit in Q4 of this year. But regardless of the outcome, Nokia is still expected to remain involved in the market through integrators and channel partners.
“For now, Nokia remains committed to its existing projects and continues to pursue new CBRS deals, such as Hybar’s greenfield steel mill in Osceola, Arkansas, albeit not as aggressively as in the past,” he said.
“Compared to a few years ago, there’s a lot more competition (and possibly more margin pressure) in both the RAN and core segments from Ericsson as well as specialists (and some newer entrants) such as Airspan, Celona, XCOM RAN, Moso Networks/Sercomm, LG Electronics, JMA, GXC, Eridan, EUCAST, BLiNQ, Druid Software, Ataya, Pente, Highway9, Blue Arcus, Firecell, Cisco and HPE. Some core vendors (Cisco, HPE and Druid in particular) have also partnered with Nokia on select projects,” he told Fierce via email.
Private 5G to surpass $6.6B by 2029
The U.S. is the largest national market for private cellular networks outside of China, with deployments taking all shapes and sizes.
SNS Telecom estimates that annual spending on private network infrastructure in the United States will grow at a CAGR of approximately 18% between 2026 and 2029, accounting for more than $1.5 billion by the end of 2029.
Worldwide, SNS Telecom expects spending on private 5G networks to surpass $6.6 billion by 2029 as industrial giants scale multi-site, multi-national private 5G deployments to support physical AI, automation and workforce connectivity and networks expand to support defense forces, public safety agencies, railways and utilities.
More about private networks:
Nokia surpasses 1,000 private network contracts in Q4 2025
SNS says private network spending will exceed $7.2B by end of 2028
SNS says 5G private networking will be dominant in the US by 2027
CBRS advocates accuse mobile carriers of trying to amp it up to 11