Public safety broadband spending to exceed $6bn by 2028

Boosted by an expanding ecosystem of public safety-grade LTE/5G devices, the public safety market communications market is set to grow at a CAGR of approximately 8% over the next three years, eventually accounting for more than $6.3bn by the end of 2028, according to a study from SNS Telecom & IT.

The Public safety LTE & 5G market: 2025-2030 – opportunities, challenges, strategies & forecasts report assessed the public safety LTE and 5G market, including the value chain, covering public safety LTE/5G infrastructure, terminal equipment, applications, systems integration and management solutions, as well as subscriptions and service revenue.

The study showed that annual investments in public safety LTE/5G infrastructure and devices reached $5bn in 2025, driven by both new projects and the expansion of existing dedicated, hybrid government-commercial, and secure mobile virtual network operator (MVNO)/multi-operator core network (MOCN) networks.

The report observed that a myriad of fully dedicated, hybrid government-commercial and secure MVNO/MOCN-based public safety LTE and 5G networks are operational or in the process of being rolled out throughout the globe.

From a technological perspective, the study noted that with the commercial availability of 3GPP standards-compliant MCX (mission-critical PTT, video & data), QPP (QoS, priority and pre-emption), HPUE (high-power user equipment), IOPS (isolated operation for public safety), and other critical communications features, LTE and 5G NR (New Radio) networks have gained recognition as an all-inclusive public safety communications platform.

Key use cases are the delivery of real-time video, high-resolution imagery, multimedia messaging, mobile office/field data applications, location services and mapping, situational awareness, unmanned asset control and other broadband capabilities, as well as MCPTT (mission-critical PTT) voice and narrowband data services provided by traditional land mobile radio (LMR) systems.

The study suggested that 3GPP networks are nearing the point where they can fully replace legacy LMR systems with a “future-proof transition path”. This would be supplemented by additional 5G features, such as 5G MBS/5MBS (5G multicast-broadcast services) for MCX services in high-density environments, 5G NR sidelink for off-network communications, VMRs (vehicle-mounted relays), MWAB (Mobile gNB with wireless access backhauling), NTN (non-terrestrial network) integration, and support for lower 5G NR bandwidths in PPDR (public protection and disaster relief) frequency bands.

In addition, the report highlighted that 3GPP-compliant MCX services are a foundational component of nationwide public safety broadband networks, and multiple procurement contracts have recently been awarded for both gateway-enabled interoperability solutions and 3GPP standards-based Interworking Function (IWF) technology. This can enable system-level interworking between LMR and MCX systems during concurrent operation.

The integration of NG911 (Next-Generation 911) systems; live video feeds from body-worn cameras, drones and vehicles; 3D geolocation services, artificial intelligence analytics; and situational awareness platforms is increasingly gaining significance in national public safety broadband programmes. The same was said to be true of the inclusion of rapidly deployable network assets, direct-to-device connectivity from satellites and in-building coverage for emergency communications.

Beyond state-funded national programmes, public mobile operators in some countries are pitching network slicing over their recently launched standalone 5G cores as an alternative to dedicated networks. Independent small-to-medium scale private 5G networks are also being deployed to address specific operational needs.