Company taps 802.16s for mission critical IoT connectivity
Mission critical IoT connectivity specialist Ondas Networks, formerly called Full Spectrum, went through the re-branding process to support its expanded focus on industrial IoT applications for high-value sectors including electric, gas and water utilities, oil and gas operators, government and transportation, according to the company. Additionally, Ondas recently hired an energy industry veteran to its exec team as it looks to capitalize on what CEO Stewart Kantor described as a “significant investment cycle” in the offing.
Kantor, pushing back against the notion that 5G will serve as the go-to connectivity for everything IoT, has said there’s a major addressable market that requires a more purpose-built approach to handle geographic coverage variability, security and the need for a private network.
Earlier this year Kantor told RCR Wireless News, “The core idea is there are needs of industrial users that are very different from your core cellular customer. The idea and core focus has been that the industrial customer really requires connectivity at the edge of their network and most of the consumer technologies focus on delivering high-speed communications to consumer markets in very specific areas versus industrial users, which have a different geography.”
For more from that interview, read the article “Is 5G a panacea for all things IoT?”
IEEE 802.16s, completed last year, is based on Ondas’ intellectual property and the company licenses compatible technology. The mission critical IoT connectivity standard outlines “OFDMA TDD operation in exclusively licensed spectrum with channel bandwidth from 100 [kilohertz] up to 1.25 [megahertz], including 1 [megahertz] explicitly, is specified,” according to IEEE.
For the new hire, Ondas brought in Kath Nelson to serve as director of technical product marketing and industry relations. Nelson previously worked for Great River Energy and oversaw deployment of SCADA and PLMR systems. She also served as chairwoman of the Utilities Technology Council.
“The Industrial Internet, which has lagged in comparison to the mobile consumer rollout, is at the foothill of a significant investment cycle,” Kantor said in a statement. “Ondas’ wireless connectivity solutions, which are architected for the unique needs of Industrial networks, will drive that investment. Ms. Nelson is a recognized global leader in smart grid automation and field area networks and has a deep knowledge of the technological needs of our critical infrastructure customers. Her position as an expert advisor and advocate for our customers will be critical as we expand our MC-IoT solutions globally, across critical infrastructure sectors.”
