Leadership Defined By Business Outcomes

The private 5G services market has evolved dramatically, and our new evaluation, The Forrester Wave™: Private 5G Services, Q4 2025, reflects this transformation. What was once a race to deliver connectivity has become a competition to deliver enterprise-ready, outcome-driven solutions. The leaders in this space are no longer just network providers — they are strategic partners in digital transformation.

What Makes A Private 5G Leader?

In this first-ever evaluation, leadership was defined by a combination of innovation, strategic vision, security, industry focus, and frictionless enterprise experiences. The top-performing vendors demonstrated excellence in the following areas:

  • Enterprise-friendly experiences. Leaders offer intuitive, unified management platforms — often described as single-pane-of-glass consoles — that integrate network, device, application, and security management. These platforms abstract away cellular complexity and focus on business assurance, enabling IT and OT teams to collaborate seamlessly.
  • Use-case-as-a-service models. Rather than selling infrastructure alone, top vendors deliver prepackaged use cases tailored to verticals such as manufacturing, healthcare, transportation, and education. These solutions include edge computing, AI, end devices, and mission-critical communications, helping organizations accelerate ROI and adoption.
  • Hybrid and programmable networks. The most advanced providers support hybrid private 5G deployments, blending as-a-slice with dedicated deployments. These networks are programmable, scalable, and designed to adapt to evolving enterprise needs — from remote operations to smart campuses.
  • Zero Trust and proactive security. Security is no longer an afterthought. Leaders embed Zero Trust frameworks into their private 5G offerings, addressing device diversity, application control, and regulatory compliance. Some even offer dedicated private 5G security operations centers and autonomous threat response capabilities.
  • AI-driven operations and observability. Autonomous operations powered by AI and machine learning are becoming standard. These capabilities enable predictive maintenance, real-time analytics, and enhanced observability across end devices, users, and applications — all critical for enterprise-grade performance.
  • Flexible pricing and delivery models. Top vendors offer modular, outcome-based as-a-service pricing that aligns with business goals. Whether through as-a-slice, dedicated deployments, or hybrid, flexibility in pricing and delivery is key to meeting diverse enterprise requirements.
  • Vision and innovation. Leaders are commonly praised for their responsive support, consulting-led deployments, and ability to adapt to industry-specific needs even when faced with an industry-first scenario. Many also invest in peer communities and innovation hubs to foster collaboration and continuous improvement.

Key Takeaways For Enterprises

  • Goal shifts: Networking and IT teams are increasingly evaluating private 5G service vendors, not only by their professional and support/operations service capabilities but their ability to deliver and leverage an entire solutions ecosystem, often targeting industry-specific requirements.
  • Cost efficiency: Consolidating an entire ecosystem (i.e., edge, AI, applications, end devices, networking, and security) under a single provider is proving financially beneficial. In addition, it opens the possibility to consume use cases as a service and accelerate business outcomes.
  • Deployment best practices: Early adopters recommend leveraging vendors with industry expertise to avoid common pitfalls and shorten time to value. If an industry-first scenario is inevitable, tech leaders should work with vendors that possess expertise in applications and business processes or agile vendors capable of adapting at a rapid pace.

Looking Ahead

Private 5G is no longer just about connectivity — it’s about enabling transformation. The leaders in this space are those who understand the complexity of enterprise environments and deliver solutions that drive measurable outcomes.

For organizations exploring private 5G, this Wave offers a roadmap to evaluate providers based on capabilities that truly matter.

Connect With Us

I will be glad to dive deep into the Wave’s evaluation criteria, guide you through the various vendors in this report, and discuss market trends. Book your next inquiry by emailing inquiry@forrester.com.