California-based private LTE/5G startup and CBRS champ Celona has announced eight test deployments of its wireless networking solution using CBRS spectrum, along with new partnerships for CBRS-based networks with edge networking firm Cradlepoint and supply-chain tech provider World Wide Technology (WWT).
Celona, which closed $10 million in Series A funding in September last year, is offering a technology stack for LTE and 5G that uses cloud software and analytics, allied with edge-based network management and control, to allocate and automate services for industrial applications.
It claims a dedicated “express lane” for mission-critical business applications, including crowded outdoor venues, industrial IoT applications, and campus-wide connectivity.
The new beta deployments cover unnamed logistics sites, shipping yards, and retail locations, the company said. It referenced “other challenging wireless environments”, besides, along with a setup at the College of Education at North Carolina State University (NCSU), in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Each of the sites is deploying Celona’s cloud-based networking architecture in CBRS spectrum at 3550 MHz to 3700 MHz. The solution precludes the need for enterprises to purchase, install, and operate multiple disparate products, it said, claiming customers can set up “in a matter of hours”.
The company ran a showcase at the Intersect music festival, a music-tech crossover event organized by AWS, in Las Vegas at the start of December. Its enterprise networking setup, using CBRS, achieved download speeds of at least 25Mbps, it said, where public LTE connectivity was patchy, dropping below 1Mbps in some parts of the festival grounds, as public radio cells became clogged with users.
Celona claimed latency metrics were 200 times better in the same circumstances. It noted the tests were carried out by staff with iPhones, switching between public and private LTE networks.
Meanwhile, Cradlepoint has said it will integrate its edge solutions with Celona’s architecture. WWT will resell Celona’s CBRS solution to large public and private organizations.
Mehmet Yavuz, co-founder and chief technology officer at Celona, commented: “Enterprise IT teams across industries want CBRS spectrum to enable a new express lane of communication for business-owned and staff-operated mobile and IoT infrastructure. Low latency and high-reliability operation for relevant applications with the use of private LTE is a key requirement, in addition to simplified deployment and operations.”
Ray Zeisz, director of enterprise infrastructure programs at the NCSU College of Education, said: “Our tests have focused on zero-touch installation of the product components where the initial setup was performed within an hour – including the ability to provision smartphones with our private SIM cards. Next, we will test performance and reliability of the private LTE wireless connections in challenging indoor and outdoor locations where public LTE and Wi-Fi coverage may not be ideal, and rolling out new cabling is simply not possible.”
Ken Hosac, vice president of IoT strategy and business development at Cradlepoint, said: “Enterprise environments such as distribution centers, factories, and transportation hubs demand reliable wireless connectivity for a variety of applications – from video surveillance to in-vehicle connectivity to IoT infrastructure. We are looking forward to integrating with Celona’s application-aware cellular wireless to meet the new generation of connectivity challenges in the enterprise.”
Neil Anderson, senior director for network solutions for WWT’s global engineering team, said: “Today’s mission-critical environments in the enterprise require reliable wireless connectivity on a clean spectrum with a promise of guaranteed SLA. We are looking forward to exploring Celona’s technology as we help our customers bring digital transformation projects to life across verticals such as industrial, manufacturing, energy, and utilities.”
