The question we get most about Private LTE and 5G is not whether it works, but what it costs. The honest answer: it depends on the site, the number of devices and the choices you make. But the structure of the price is the same for every network. Below we list the items and show where the big differences are.
What the price of a private mobile network consists of
- Spectrum: in the Netherlands licensed spectrum is available for local networks. We handle the application with you; the cost is limited and fixed per year.
- Antennas and radios: the number depends on the area, the buildings and whether you want coverage indoors, outdoors or both. A small hall or a site of limited size often needs one or two radios.
- The core: the core network that sets up connections, manages SIMs and steers traffic. This is where most suppliers make their margin, and where we make the biggest difference.
- SIM cards or eSIM: for every device on the network.
- Radio planning and installation: the survey beforehand, the mounting and the handover with a test report.
- Management: monitoring, updates and an incident line, as a managed service or handed over to your own team.
Why our own core makes the difference
In most Private 5G solutions the core comes from the radio manufacturer or a software vendor. They usually charge a licence per user, per device or per amount of bandwidth. A hundred more scanners means a hundred more licences, and a capacity upgrade means a new invoice.
Networkguys uses its own in-house developed core. With us you pay a fixed fee per SIM, not per user or per bandwidth. We pass that saving on. Our core also offers more features than most cores used in Private 5G solutions: one portal for SIMs, coverage, capacity and incidents, set up around your processes. And because we develop and manage the software ourselves, it is more stable than the open source options sometimes deployed as a cheap alternative, which you have to maintain yourself and nobody stands behind when things go wrong.
The core runs where you want it: locally on your site if data may not leave the premises, or centrally in our data centre if you want less equipment on site.
New or refurbished hardware: your choice
Antennas, radios and servers do not always have to be new. For every project we offer the choice between new hardware with full factory warranty and refurbished hardware that we have tested and covered with warranty. For a trial setup, a small location or a network that mainly serves sensors and scanners, refurbished is often the sensible choice. For a production site that has to last ten years, we usually advise new. You decide, we quote both options.
What a small setup costs
A small Private 5G setup, for example one hall or a bounded site with one or two radios, our core and a handful of SIMs, can be built with refurbished hardware for under 10,000 euros, including radio planning and installation. Add a fixed fee per SIM and, if you want, a management subscription. If you first want to see what the network does at your location, we build a three-month trial setup with the same hardware as the final network, at a reduced rate. If it works for you, the setup stays.
Where the price goes up
- Large sites and several halls: more radios and more mounting work.
- Outdoor coverage over a port or distribution yard: taller masts and more rugged radios.
- Hundreds of devices at once: more capacity in the core and more SIMs.
- Integration with existing IT and OT: firewalls, segmentation and links to your systems.
- Redundancy: a second core or second connections if the network must never fail.
How to get an honest number
Send us a floor plan or address, the number of devices and what has to run over the network. An engineer then makes a first radio plan and quotes two variants: new and refurbished, with and without management. That way you see exactly where the money goes before you decide anything.