Challenge 2: Private 5G does not integrate well into Enterprise networks
Even after enterprises overcome the deployment hurdle, a second concern quickly arises: “How does this actually fit into our network?” If private 5G requires separate IP addressing, separate security policies, or traffic hair-pinning through a remote core, it stops feeling like infrastructure and starts feeling like an complicated experiment.
Integration starts with IP
In a LAN-integrated private 5G model, devices connecting over 5G receive IP addresses from the same DHCP services used by wired and Wi-Fi endpoints. This allows complete visibility for an IT administrator into the devices on the private 5G network with no translation layer, and no artificial boundary between networks.
From an IP perspective, a device on private 5G is just another endpoint on the enterprise network.
Security should look familiar
Rather than inventing a new security stack, private 5G can integrate directly with existing AAA and NAC platforms. The same identity checks, posture assessments, and access policies applied to wired and Wi-Fi devices extend naturally to cellular endpoints.
Traffic enforcement remains with the enterprise firewall. For industrial workloads, this also enables local breakout, allowing traffic to reach on-prem servers or edge AI systems without unnecessary cloud hair pinning and associated security concerns.
Orchestration without isolation
While lifecycle management of the cellular network is handled centrally, the access points themselves behave like LAN devices. This gives IT teams full visibility without creating another operational silo.
Connecting more than just cellular devices
Real industrial environments are messy. Alongside cellular-capable tablets and scanners, you’ll find AGVs operating on Wi-Fi, legacy PLCs using fieldbus protocols (wired), and sensors running low-power wireless.
Industrial gateways act as protocol and access bridges, connecting these devices upstream into private 5G while preserving downstream interfaces. From the network’s perspective, everything becomes part of the same operational domain.
Incremental modernisation, not forced replacement
This approach lets enterprises introduce private 5G today, connect existing assets, and gradually adopt native cellular devices, without fragmenting operations.
What to do next
If private 5G can’t share your routing and security policies, and operational model, it will remain isolated. Integration isn’t a “nice to have”; it’s the difference between a pilot and a platform.
