The Edge over CBRS network deployment is “a big step forward for the mobile industry”
Mobile edge network and software company AlefEdge says it has completed the first-ever live deployment of an Edge Area Network over CBRS at a tower location in Foxborough, Massachusetts. According to the company, the “Edge over CBRS” network at a tower location is a first-of-its-kind deployment and will provide important monetization opportunities in rapidly developing areas that require very low latency such as smart retail, private networks and mobile health care.
AlefEdge CEO Dr. Ganesh Sundaram called the deployment “a big step forward for the mobile industry,” adding that it can be replicated at any tower location.
The Foxborough tower location, however, is close to an outdoor retail mall and entertainment complex that will act as the test bed for the company’s first use case. AlefEdge will offer its CBRS edge compute capabilities to improve the digital screens screens already located in in the complex. “They’re just dumb terminals,” Dr. Sundaram said.
By combining AlefEdge’s technology and artificial intelligence, these “dumb” digital screens can be turned into smart advertising opportunities, the company says. Cameras on the screens can capture certain demographic information about passersby, like gender and age. From there, AI takes over, immediately determining which ads to display that will best relate to the viewer.
Dr. Sundaram explained that in order for this advertising method to work, the computing environment has to very close to this screen because if the personalized advertisement doesn’t start almost immediately, people won’t stick around to watch it.
“We bring real-time insights to advertisers and connect the digital realm to the physical. This reference application is just one example of how the edge can offer new experiences for applications across all industries,” he stated.
AlefEdge provided the edge software stack for the project, while Packet provided the shared computing infrastructure-as-a-service, and Federated Wireless delivered the shared spectrum controller introduced in September. A few unnamed parties took part in the deployment as well, including the CBRS base station provider and the tower company.
Federated Wireless, Google, CommScope, Amdocs and Sony, five companies that operate CBRS Spectrum Access Systems (SASs), were approved to begin their initial commercial deployments in September.
