Celona has introduced a new device certification scheme to reassure customers that certain user equipment will work without a hitch on its local-area (LAN) private LTE and 5G systems. The scheme is for “cellular-native private wireless devices”, it said; it is the first of its kind (“first 5G LAN device certification program”), it insisted, promising all accredited devices – 25 so far, and counting – have gone through “rigorous testing”.
Meanwhile, the California-based startup, which has made its name in the CBRS rush in the US, and with a notable deal as the core network provider in NTT’s global private wireless offer, has also announced a new certification course to teach the basics of private LTE and 5G to enterprise staff, looking to deploy and manage private network systems. It has partnered with Certified Wireless Network Professionals (CWNP), recognized for Wi-Fi certification, to sponsor and host the course.
The new device scheme covers industrial handhelds, tablets, smartphones, IoT gateways, routers, and other customer premises equipment (CPE) devices, including from the likes of Apple, Google, Cradlepoint, Inseego, MultiTech, Sercomm, and Sierra Wireless. Certified devices have been passed for throughput (“at near… and far cell locations”), packet error rates, latency, handover times, as well as for features like quality-of-service and 5G routing.
The scheme guarantees a “plug-and-play experience” on Celona-based core-and-radio private-network combination systems, it said. The full list of devices is here. The company said: “While other certification programs have focused on regulatory compliance and device specifications for macro networks, Celona’s program targets the enterprise. The program validates devices with Celona’s 5G LAN access points [and] edge software, and SIM/eSIM credentials using a variety of test suites and procedures for different enterprise applications.”
Dariush Afshar, vice president of business development and strategic operations at Celona, said: “Fully integrated private cellular solutions that are truly turnkey must be based on an open ecosystem that addresses the interoperability of end user equipment with private 5G infrastructure. This has been a big barrier for enterprise adoption of private cellular wireless – and we’ve now effectively eliminated it.”
The new staff certification scheme, sponsored and hosted online by CWNP, is another ‘first’, the company said. The C5S course promises a “vendor-neutral introduction to emerging private LTE/5G solutions and technologies,” it said. The free, six-hour C5S certification from Celona is valid for three years. It is pitched to “network engineers, architects, decision makers and technology advisors from both the IT and telecom industries”.
Topics (paraphrased) include: differences with Wi-Fi; technical considerations; business considerations; RAN features; terminology and concepts; spectrum regulations; device selection; physical and embedded SIMs (eSIMs), network integration; indoor and outdoor deployments.
Tom Carpenter, chief technology officer at CWNP, said: “Network professionals have always looked to us to provide domain expertise and world-class education on the latest technologies and deployment practices. While we are committed to remaining vendor independent, we believe our partnership with Celona… will help address exciting new developments in 5G LANs that are poised to change how network professionals think about, design and deploy enterprise wireless networks going forward.”
