NTT and Zebra want to accelerate the delivery of private 5G devices

NTT Data, the global systems integrator arm of Japanese telecommunications group NTT, has signed a multi-year agreement with US device manufacturer Zebra Technologies, which has gained Apple’s aura in the industrial sector for its specialist mobile devices, to solve ongoing challenges related to the inconsistent supply and range of compatible 5G devices for private mobile networks. The pair will “innovate together to accelerate the adoption of 5G devices,” they said.

They’re targeting private 5G devices for manufacturing, healthcare, and logistics. They also mentioned the automotive industry — it’s unclear whether that’s car manufacturing, fleet and logistics solutions, or automotive driving technologies. But the statement suggests they’re focused on the diverse Industry 4.0 sector. “Both companies will enable intelligent asset tracking… in industrial and enterprise deployments,” it said.

The deal means Zebra Technologies becomes a “strategic partner” in NTT Data’s “device-as-a-service” practice. Talk of innovation and co-innovation, as well as “new connectivity solutions,” suggests the duo will also be looking to bring original, customized 5G hardware solutions to market; but that wasn’t made explicit in the press release. Instead, it sounds more like a go-to-market move to provide NTT customers with the latest devices and updates.

The statement reads: “Globally available devices, customers will benefit from continuously modernizing device deployments and the ability to leverage new connectivity solutions with a leading suite of Wi-Fi (and) private LTE and 5G compatible devices… …Both companies are committed to to make low-latency and high-security private 5G-enabled devices easily accessible to frontline workers in the automotive, manufacturing, healthcare and logistics industries.”

UK-based SI offers a full service offering for private 5G devices, including planning, procurement, configuration, deployment, support, analysis, repairs and upgrades. Service plans that include device rentals are available on a monthly, per-user basis. In late 2023, the company announced an agreement with Qualcomm to invest in and accelerate its development of the 5G device ecosystem to facilitate 5G adoption in the private sector.

It stated: “(A) critical barrier to 5G adoption in the private sector is the availability of 5G devices for enterprises. This partnership will fill this gap for connected devices in the private enterprise 5G market.” He cited a forecast by the analytics company Omdia, according to which the private 5G market will grow by about 35 percent over the next four years and will be worth about $10 billion by 2028. “We need greater connectivity to support Industry 4.0… (and) artificial intelligence,” it said.

At the same time, NTT Data announced that it had implemented a private 5G network for the American Hyster-Yale Group, a manufacturer of lift trucks and spare parts, which was equipped with Zebra Technologies devices covered by a subscription to NTT services. “The network will work with Zebra handheld mobile computers and tablets to track assets and materials entering and leaving production facilities,” NTT said.

No other details were provided about Hyster-Yale Group’s private 5G rollout. However, Pierluigi Mastroddi, the company’s director of IT infrastructure services, said the NTT/Zebra combination enabled “significantly greater SKU customization within the standard device set.”

Shahid Ahmed, group vice president of edge services at NTT DATA, said the deal “underscores our commitment to empowering enterprises with the transformational capabilities that drive 5G edge and private use cases.” Julie Johnson, general manager of enterprise mobile computing at Zebra Technologies, said this “underscores our commitment to providing customers with the latest innovations powered by Wi-Fi (and) private LTE/5G networks.”

Zebra Technologies released a market study on Industry 4.0 this week that shows that most manufacturing companies do not have live visibility of production in their factories, which of course is provided by rugged, portable computing, scanning and sensing devices. But he cautioned that the industry’s high hopes for AI-enabled automation and efficiency are unrealistic without fixing the fundamental challenge of “visibility” of assets and systems.