5G shows great promise, but 4G LTE will already meet 95% of industrial needs by 2025. Here are the key differences to help you choose the right technology based on your actual usage.
| Criterion | 4G LTEEziwan — available today | 5G NREziwan Roadmap 2025–2027 |
|---|---|---|
| Typical download speed | 10–150 Mbps | 1–20 Gbps |
| Typical latency | 20–50 ms | < 5 ms (URLLC) |
| Connection Density | ~100,000 devices/km² | 1 million devices per square kilometer |
| IIoT Use Cases Covered | 95% of current industrial applications | All of them, including AGVs, cobots, and AR |
| Coverage in France (2025) | Very broad — including rural areas | Major Cities and Industrial Areas |
| Private deployment at a factory | Complex — requires operator approval | Local 3.5 GHz spectrum — total autonomy |
| Cost of terminal equipment | Low — mature LTE Cat.4 modules | Still high — 5G SA modules down |
| Deployment Timeframe | 1 to 5 days (ready-to-use gateway) | 3 to 18 months (RAN infrastructure required) |
Our recommendation: For 80% of industrial projects in 2025, 4G LTE is the most cost-effective solution, the fastest to deploy, and the best suited to the geographic coverage constraints in France. Consider 5G only if you have proven needs for deterministic latency (AGVs, cobots) or very high data rates (4K+ machine vision).
These five use cases require network performance that public 4G cannot guarantee in a deterministic manner. These are the true drivers of industrial 5G.
Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs) and Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs) require a reliable wireless connection with low latency and a high density of simultaneous connections. 4G latency (20–50 ms) can cause unexpected reactions; 5G URLLC (< 5 ms) ensures smooth trajectories and safe human-machine interactions.
Controlling cobots (collaborative robots) over a wireless network requires deterministic latency and extreme reliability. In a private 5G network, the URLLC slice guarantees these properties. In a public 4G network, jitter and congestion on the shared network make this application risky—a wired connection or Wi-Fi 6 is therefore preferable.
AR headsets (HoloLens, Magic Leap) used to guide maintenance technicians transmit high-resolution video streams and receive 3D data in real time. The minimum required bandwidth (> 100 Mbps upload) and latency requirements (< 20 ms to prevent motion sickness) exceed the capabilities of 4G in congested industrial environments.
High-resolution machine vision (4K, 8K) quality control on production lines may require the simultaneous transmission of multiple video streams to edge servers. Private 5G with local edge computing allows these streams to be processed without network latency, whereas 4G would reach its bandwidth limits.
Triggering a safety valve, shutting down a production line, or activating a brake via a wireless connection in a functional safety environment (SIL 2/3) requires latency and reliability that exceed those of 4G. 5G URLLC paves the way for these critical, wireless control applications.
Before investing in 5G infrastructure, check to see if your actual needs are already met by 4G LTE. Here are some use cases where 4G offers an excellent balance of performance, cost, and availability.
The current Eziwan gateway (4G LTE Cat. 12) supports all these applications with operational reliability proven at thousands of sites in France.
A private 5G campus allows a manufacturing company to deploy its own 5G network on its premises, independent of public carriers. Here are the key components and the order of magnitude of the costs.
RAN equipment (gNodeB) consists of the 5G antennas that provide coverage for your factory. Indoors, each gNodeB covers approximately 500 to 2,000 m² depending on the environment. The main equipment manufacturers are Nokia (AirScale), Ericsson (AIR), HPE (Aruba), and—for more affordable solutions—Celona, Athonet, and Mavenir.
The 5G core network (5G Core) handles authentication, routing, billing, and network slicing. In NSA mode, the operator’s existing LTE core network is reused. In SA mode, a dedicated 5G core must be deployed on-premises or hosted by an operator.
In France, the 3.4–3.8 GHz spectrum is allocated by ARCEP for local industrial 5G networks. A local license can be obtained for a defined geographic area at a cost well below that of operators’ national licenses. The CBRS (3.5 GHz) is the model currently being adopted in Europe.
An industrial private 5G network project is a significant investment with a long deployment timeline. These figures are provided for informational purposes only as a preliminary estimate—the actual cost depends heavily on the size of the site and the chosen architecture.
Our gateways are designed to transition from 4G LTE to 5G SA without replacing the existing infrastructure. Here are the planned steps.
The current line of Eziwan gateways features 4G LTE Cat.12 modules offering download speeds of up to 600 Mbps. Dual SIM support for multiple carriers with automatic switching within 30 seconds. Immediate deployment throughout France.
Eziwan is gradually integrating 5G NSA (Non-Standalone) modules into its premium product line. These modules remain backward compatible with 4G and connect to the 5G NSA networks of French carriers, which already provide coverage in major industrial areas.
Eziwan's roadmap includes support for 5G SA (Standalone) and private 5G networks (campus networks). In partnership with operators and RAN equipment manufacturers, Eziwan will offer a turnkey solution for manufacturers looking to deploy their own private 5G network with local edge computing.
Technical solutions for infrastructure managers, CIOs in the industrial sector, and automation integrators.
Whether you have a specific private 5G project in mind or want to assess whether 4G LTE is sufficient for your needs, our team will help you choose the right technology at the right time. No sales pitch—just an honest analysis of your needs.