Verizon vendors focus on in-building connectivity during Austin event
The annual Verizon Technology Users Forum event, formerly called the In-Building Technology Users Forum, is taking place this week in Austin, Texas, and, as with everything telecoms, 5G is a major part of the conversation.
Right now 5G deployments are largely focused on creating outdoor hot spots in dense, urban areas. And, just like with previous generations of cellular, the in-building space is at risk of continuing to be an underserved market. Keenly aware of this, vendors are tailoring their indoors solution to provide an option that’s 5G-ready.
Just like with the macro network, delivering 5G depends on fiber and software. Case in point, SOLiD Technologies announced an upgrade to its GENESIS distributed antenna system platform designed to provide an evolutionary path from LTE to 5G.
President of SOLiD Americas Ken Sandfeld noted its platform is compatible with the 5G New Radio specification and will be further adapted to support the 3.5 GHz Citizens Broadband Radio Service band as well as millimeter wave frequencies, which are central to operator 5G strategies.
The goal, Sandfeld said, is deliver the adaptability needed to “avoid the rip-and-replace strategy…While others talk about deploying 5G solutions, SOLiD is already deploying 5G solutions in South Korea,” with SK Telecom. “Here at Verizon’s VZTUF XIII, we are very pleased to showcase SOLiD GENESIS DAS to address the needs of customers who want a software based, fiber-to-the- edge solution, designed to meet the requirements of the middleprise market.”
Elsewhere in the in-building market, JMA Wireless, which recently acquired 5G specialist PHAZR, announced this week deployed its virtualized XRAN solution in Dacia Arena in Udine, Italy. XRAN connects to JMA’s TEKO DAS to support a neutral host deployment model.
