US private networks and small cells provider Boingo Wireless is working with Qualcomm to “streamline” IoT deployments for enterprise customers, it has said. The Los Angeles firm has joined Qualcomm’s ‘smart cities accelerator’ programme, and is offering integrated Qualcomm-based IoT solutions with its own CBRS-based private networks offering.
It is going after enterprise customers in charge of various types of venues, notably office buildings, hospitality sites, airports, transit hubs, stadiums, hospitals, and military bases. Qualcomm’s accelerator consortium, launched in early 2019, brings together sundry tech providers to combine on Qualcomm-based as-a-service smart solutions for “modern cities, spaces, and enterprises”.
These solutions are indexed and offered as part of Qualcomm’s IoT services suite. Boingo sells distributed antenna (DAS) systems and small cells for enterprise Wi-Fi and private cellular networks. Ahead of an MWC showcase in Barcelona next week, Boingo said it is leveraging Qualcomm’s service suite to bundle hardware, software and platforms with its CBRS offer in the US.
Both companies have identified a number of gateway IoT use cases, effectively – such as access controls, digital payments, water and waste management, smart metering, predictive maintenance, and asset tracking – to drive adoption of private cellular networks in the ‘smart cities and smart venues space’. A statement said the tie-up on the Qualcomm IoT funnel “can bypass common fragmentation… so enterprises can implement use cases that achieve their desired outcomes”.
Michael Zeto, chief commercial officer at Boingo, said: “[Enterprises]… are seeking a complete IoT solution from design to deployment with a strong connectivity backbone. That’s where Boingo comes in. With the Qualcomm IoT Services Suite, we make it easier, quicker and more cost-effective to manage and deploy connected operations and streamline IoT vendor relationships. Boingo not only lays the foundation of a smart venue with private networks, we can also stitch together an entire IoT workflow to help enterprises realize their operational goals.”
Sanjeet Pandit, senior director of business development and global head of smart cities at Qualcomm, said: “We’re pleased to have Boingo as a member of the [accelerator]… Our Qualcomm IoT Services Suite boasts a deep bench of industry leading partners that cover hardware, software and best-in-class network connectivity and with support from ecosystem members like Boingo, we will together make intelligent IoT deployments a commercial reality.”
