Private 5G has not taken off as quickly as hoped, after early successes among some larger enterprises in manufacturing and engineering, partly because it has taken longer to come out with convincing offerings for SMEs that take out the heavy lifting for them. There are also big differences between countries over regulations and allocation of spectrum that have inhibited deployments in these markets and fragmented the field somewhat. The GSMA admitted to this disenchantment obliquely in a blog published just before MWC 2024, with the comment “however, nearly six years after the first 5G launches, private networks still represent new ground in terms of regulatory best practice.” The blog addressed the role of spectrum allocation in encouraging or inhibiting private…