Nokia: Private 5G Networks Are the Backbone of Industrial AI

AI is transforming industries at an unprecedented pace. Far from being restricted to research laboratories or academic debates, AI is fast becoming a core component of day-to-day industrial practices.

Whether it's streamlining customer interactions, refining supply chain management or improving workplace safety, AI is quickly demonstrating its worth across almost every industry.

But a critical question still remains: how sustainable is this rapid expansion? The 2025 Industrial Digitalisation Report from Nokia and GlobalData offers a pretty definitive response. AI's trajectory depends fundamentally on the strength of its supporting digital infrastructure.

"The enthusiasm surrounding AI is completely justified," says Stephan Litjens, VP of Enterprise Campus Edge at Nokia. "The potential to radically transform business operations is now unquestionable, but we must consider every variable in the equation to ensure we are creating the right environment for innovation."

Building solid foundations

A crucial prerequisite for implementing and expanding AI within businesses is establishing the appropriate digital ecosystem. Prior to determining where AI can deliver value to an organisation, assessing the supporting infrastructure is paramount. The relationship between digital infrastructure and AI mirrors that between roads and vehicles.

A car's quality becomes irrelevant without roads to drive on. AI deserves the same level of consideration. Construct the infrastructure and supply the right fuel (industrial data) and the transformation can commence.

"The network which powers an industrial operation is a company's most powerful digital asset," Stephan adds. "Simply put, without the right network, nothing else functions as it should."

This perspective resonates throughout the report, with businesses consistently emphasising that private wireless represented the sole solution capable of providing the comprehensive and dependable connectivity they required.

As one Head of IT for a nuclear power facility in Europe explains: "You need a certain level of reliability. You need to be able to really trust the network. 98% or 99% is not good enough."

A new era for private wireless and on-premises edge

Nokia's research reveals that 75% of organisations implementing private wireless networks did so to enhance the dependability and efficiency of wireless connectivity across their operations, whilst 63% are pursuing real-time intelligence and minimal latency capabilities.

Taking this further, combining private wireless connectivity with robust on-premises edge computing and local data repositories amplifies these advantages significantly.

The report discovered that 94% of surveyed businesses have implemented edge technology alongside their private wireless network infrastructure.

Many of the most effective applications resulted from this integrated approach being AI-powered. For example, 78% of participants reduced operational expenditure by over 10% through technologies including robotics and mechatronics, alongside implementing features such as automated condition monitoring.

These applications are fundamentally strengthened by AI capabilities, but this is only achievable with a deterministic, low-latency communication network such as private wireless (LTE/5G), which provides real-time data flows from operational equipment to power AI inference engines operating at the on-premises edge.

This technological convergence is producing remarkably swift returns, with more than two-thirds of businesses (68%) reporting that they secured an ROI within six months.

"An Edge platform powered by Private wireless connectivity is transformative when it comes to AI adoption and scalability, as AI engines are only as good as the unified data they are being fed," says Stephan.

He adds: "Rapidly and cost-effectively deployable, private wireless networks can supply large volumes of high-quality, uninterrupted data streams to AI algorithms, enabling highly accurate predictions and optimal, real-time decisions necessary by mission-critical operational technology environments."

Flexibility and security

Private wireless networks, paired with on-premises AI-capable edge computing infrastructure, provide substantial customisation potential, enabling organisations to configure connectivity, data processing and data management according to their precise operational requirements and protocols.

In contrast to public networks, these systems can be fine-tuned for coverage, latency and bandwidth within secure and regulated environments, including factories, ports or campuses, guaranteeing that confidential data remains on-site.

The research supports this finding, highlighting that private 5G delivers substantial built-in cybersecurity capabilities, including robust 256-bit cryptographic algorithms, that distinguish it from alternative access technologies.

This adaptability facilitates support for essential applications, effortless integration with IoT infrastructure and prioritisation of mission-critical traffic. Additional flexibility exists regarding deployment strategies, frequency spectrum and network designs that conform to regulatory or commercial obligations.

What emerges is a robust, secure and bespoke network delivering reliable performance where traditional connectivity proves inadequate. It serves as the catalyst for authentic transformation, as a Director of Innovation for an aviation company states: "Our ability to innovate in this way would not have happened without our private wireless network."

The route to industrial transformation is built on data and AI is the driving force behind it. Yet without adequate digital infrastructure, momentum will falter.

The research demonstrates convincingly that combining private wireless networks with on-premise edge computing delivers the secure, dependable and low-latency foundation that industrial AI needs to operate and expand. It represents the critical enabler for advancing efficiency, safety and innovation.

"If the objective is to thrive in the AI era, private wireless connectivity should be a major consideration," says Stephan.

For telecommunications providers, the message is clear. The opportunity here lies in building these high performance digital roads, empowering industrial clients to begin their transformative AI journey today.