Table 3 Description of stakeholders

Enterprise (E)

The E is the owner or manager of the premises and is responsible for the long-term innovation, efficiency and profitability of its operation. In large enterprises, teams can be dedicated to centrally or decentrally manage IT systems

Mobile Network Operator (MNO)

The MNO operates its mobile network infrastructure to provide connectivity to end-users. It merges the roles of mobile service provider and infrastructure provider

Network Equipment Vendor (NEV)

The NEVs or the hardware and software equipment manufacturers are responsible for building and delivering the hardware and software that compose the network infrastructure

Cloud Provider (CP)

The CP or the data network operator is a third-party company offering a cloud-based platform, infrastructure, application, or storage services

Service Provider (SP)

A SP is the entity that offers services to consumers. It can take the local operator role specialized for the specific facility. It can provide radio and core service, cloud services, management service, IoT services or security service. As discussed in [29, 30], this includes software network function providers, IT service providers, network service providers, communication service providers and online/over-the-top service providers

Third-party system integrator (3SI)

The 3SI is a third-party company, specialized in bringing together component subsystems into a whole and ensuring that those subsystems function together. The 3SI proposes a broad range of skills including software, system architecture and enterprise architecture, software and hardware engineering and interface protocols

Third-party network/ radio planner (3NP)

The 3NP is a third-party company, specialized in the process of proposing locations, configurations and settings of the new network nodes to be rolled out in the private 5G Network. Its main objectives are to implement an economically efficient network infrastructure, to obtain sufficient coverage over a target area and to provide the demanded network capacity by taking into account the specification of technology-dependent parameters

Brokers

They act as intermediaries between the different stakeholders. This could be the E, MNO, SP, 3SI or 3NP

Third-party WAN operator (3WO)

The 3WO is the owner, in whole or in part, of the WAN infrastructure, and makes its assets available as a service

Third-party Enterprise /Community (3EC)

The 3EC can participate regarding the private network, for example, external facility owner if an access point must be installed at a third party roof top

Government (G)

Government or office of communications / regulation is licensing spectrum or certifying products

Tenants

A tenant is a consumer of a virtual network service. It depends on the business model (i.e., business-to-business, business-to-consumers, business-to-government). A tenant renting a slice will typically specify which users can utilize that slice

Users

The users are typically called subscribers of mobile connectivity service. In a factory environment, such as a shop floor, the user of the technology is usually the factory personnel (e.g., machine builders, machine operators, local manufacturing IT management personnel, logistics workers)