Beyond 5G: PHWAN – A secure, low-latency, and cost-effective framework for Industry 4.0 smart manufacturing
Nurzati Iwani Othman, Hassan Jamil Syed, Athirah Mohd Ramly, Nur Hanis Sabrina binti Suhaimi, Aitizaz Ali, Mohamed Abdulnabi, Ahmad Fadzil Ismail · Egyptian Informatics Journal · 2025
The digital transformation of Industry 4.0 requires networking solutions that deliver ultra-low latency, energy efficiency, and robust security. Conventional 5G architectures face limitations such as high infrastructure costs, performance bottlenecks, and vulnerabilities in mission-critical environments. This study proposes the Private Hybrid Wireless Access Network (PHWAN) framework, a novel architecture that combines localized spectrum management, edge–cloud orchestration, and blockchain-based Zero Trust security. A comprehensive cost–benefit model and MATLAB-based simulation of an industrial IoT environment were used to evaluate PHWAN against traditional 5G deployments. Results show that PHWAN reduces latency by 50 % (0.5 ms to 0.25 ms), lowers energy consumption by 61 % (5.4 mJ to 2.1 mJ), and improves bandwidth utilization by 108 %. Security analysis further demonstrates improved access control and data integrity without incurring significant overhead. These findings establish PHWAN as a scalable and cost-effective alternative to 5G for delay-sensitive and resource-constrained industrial IoT applications. Future research will extend validation to standardized platforms such as NS-3 and 5G-LENA and explore integration with 6G spectrum slicing, quantum-secured communications, and industrial metaverse applications to enhance resilience and interoperability in next-generation smart factories.