Glossary · Industrial wireless and positioning
5G campus network
Also known as: 5G campus, Campus network (5G)
German: 5G-Campusnetz
In industrial communication, a 5G campus network is a 5G mobile network limited to a defined site, such as a factory, port or campus, that serves the site's devices and is operated by the site owner, a mobile network operator or a service provider, either fully separate from or partly shared with a public network.
- Industrial wireless
In one sentence
A 5G campus network is a site-limited 5G network for a factory or campus, run standalone or partly shared with a public network.
Example
A car plant runs a 5G campus network for its AGVs and handheld scanners, with local spectrum and its own core network on site.
How it applies
- Engineering: Campus networks can be standalone (own radio and core network, own spectrum where regulators assign it) or hybrid (sharing parts with a public operator's network). The model decides who controls data flows, availability and changes.
- Spectrum: Some countries assign local frequencies for industrial campus networks, for example Germany in the 3.7–3.8 GHz band; elsewhere, other licensing models apply. Check the rules for each site.
- Security: The campus network is a network zone of its own and needs connection rules to the OT and IT networks like any other zone, as described in IEC 62443.
- Documentation: The documentation team records the operating model, responsibilities (site owner, operator, integrator), coverage, measured latencies and the device onboarding process.
5G campus network vs. private 5G network
The terms overlap. "Campus network" stresses the geographic limitation to a site; "Private 5G network" stresses exclusive use by one organization. 3GPP's technical term is non-public network (NPN).