Nokia: Private Wireless is the Foundation for Industrial AI

The growth of AI is reshaping industries at an unprecedented rate. No longer confined to experimental labs or theoretical discussions, AI is becoming an integral part of mainstream industrial operations. From automating customer service to optimising supply chains and enhancing worker safety, AI is proving its value across virtually every sector.

However, one of the biggest questions that remains is how long the growth can continue on its current trajectory. Insights from the 2025 Industrial Digitalisation Report by Nokia and GlobalData provide a clear answer: the future of AI hinges on the quality of the underlying digital infrastructure.

“The excitement around AI is entirely warranted,” 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.”

Do we have the right foundations to build on?

One of the fundamental stepping stones to adopting and scaling AI in business is the right digital environment. Before considering where and how AI can add value to an organisation, it is essential to evaluate the underlying infrastructure. A company’s digital infrastructure is to AI as a road is to a car.

It doesn’t matter how good a car is; if there aren’t any roads, it isn’t going anywhere. The same consideration should be given to AI. Build the road and put the right fuel in the tank (industrial data) and your journey begins.

“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.”

The sentiment is strongly reflected in the report, where enterprises repeatedly highlighted that private wireless was the only solution that could deliver the pervasive and reliable connectivity they needed.

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.”

The power of private wireless and on-premises edge

According to Nokia’s report, 75% of companies that have deployed a private wireless network have done so to improve the reliability and performance of wireless connectivity at their facilities, while 63% are driving towards real-time insights and low-latency capabilities.

Going one step further, blending private wireless connectivity with high-performance on-premises edge compute and local data storage compounds the benefits further.

In fact, the report found that 94% of surveyed enterprises have deployed edge technology in conjunction with a private wireless network solution.

Some of the most successful use cases delivered through the combined approach were AI-driven. For instance, 78% of respondents helped reduce operational costs by more than 10% thanks to technologies such as robotics and mechatronics, as well as introducing elements such as automated condition monitoring.

Ultimately, these use cases are enhanced by the power of AI, but that’s only possible with a deterministic, low-latency communication network such as private wireless (LTE/5G), which delivers real-time data streams from operational assets to feed AI inference engines running at the on-premises edge.

The fusion of technologies is delivering stunningly fast returns, with over two-thirds of enterprises (68%) stating that they achieved an ROI in under 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.”

A flexible, secure and purpose-built foundation

Private wireless networks, combined with on-premises AI-capable edge compute solutions, offer a high degree of customisation, allowing organisations to tailor connectivity, data processing and data handling to their specific operational needs and policies.

Unlike public networks, they can be optimised for coverage, latency and bandwidth in secure and controlled environments, such as factories, ports, or campuses, ensuring that sensitive data never leaves the site.

The report reinforces this, noting that private 5G offers significant inherent cybersecurity features, such as strong 256-bit cryptographic algorithms, that differentiate it from other access mediums.

The flexibility enables support for critical applications, seamless integration with IoT devices and prioritisation of mission-specific traffic. There is further flexibility over deployment models, frequency bands and network architectures that align with regulatory or business requirements.

The result is a resilient, secure and purpose-built network that delivers consistent performance where conventional connectivity falls short. It is the catalyst for genuine 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 path to industrial transformation is paved with data and the vehicle driving it is AI. However, without the proper digital infrastructure, the progress will stall.

The evidence clearly shows that a combination of private wireless networks and on-premise edge computing provides the secure, reliable and low-latency foundation that industrial AI requires to function and scale. It is the essential enabler for improving 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 lies in building these high-performance digital roads, empowering industrial clients to begin their transformative AI journey today.