The Inseego edge solution integrates 5G, wired connections, security and networking functions
Over the summer, Inseego released 5G SD EDGE, a 5G cloud solution that delivers networking and security through a 5G network fabric for enterprises, eliminating the need for complex and expensive on-premise custom legacy hardware solutions. According to Inseego President and CEO Ashish Sharma, current market solutions were not well-equipped to scale the growing remote workforce, and so the company designed the new solution to address this dearth.
Sharma said the edge solution integrates 5G, wired connections, security and networking functions — such as segmentation, traffic prioritization and load balancing — into a single solution. This integration, the company claims, leads to lower costs, improved security and simplified management for IT.
“Anything that is distributed within the enterprise —locations, workforce, workflows — anything that is spread out, 5G is a great way to bring on those employees and locations and equipment and get the connected to the network quickly,” he told RCR Wireless News.
Instead of bringing in custom hardware and putting the security solution together in a piecemeal fashion — a firewall from here, a router solution from there, and so on — the SD EDGE extends the corporate IP networking and security policies to all of these locations using the same 5G link, the 5G appliances and the same devices. “Rather than bringing in other pieces of custom hardware, let’s keep the edge super thin with these 5G devices and do everything on the 5G layer,” Sharma added.
FWA: ‘A tremendous market in the making’
In order to accomplish this, the 5G edge solutions leverages Inseego’s entire 5G fixed wireless access (FWA) portfolio, which includes the Wavemaker FG2000 5G indoor router, the Wavemaker FX2000 5G indoor router, Wavemaker FW2000 5G outdoor modem for sub-6 GHz and the Wavemaker FW2010 5G outdoor modem for mmWave.
More broadly, Sharma expressed confidence in the potential of 5G FWA overall, calling it “a tremendous market in the making.”
“I am seeing an unbelievable 5G performance [with carrier FWA] — downlink, uplink hitting 120, 140 Mbps,” he stated. “That is pretty remarkable, and once the full midband coverage is in place, this is a real opportunity for 5G to connect many places and people.”
Verizon and T-Mobile’s 5G strategies appear to align with Sharma’s views in the sense that they’ve both led with FWA. In an interview with RCR Wireless News, for instance, Verizon EVP and Business Group CEO Tami Erwin noted noted that the FWA service, paired with existing national mobility distribution and leadership in every segment served, is a “natural extension” for business customers looking to bundle mobile and fixed broadband. “It really does give customers choice and value,” she said.
And when it comes to T-Mobile, the carrier previously revealed that it is on track to serve 7 million to 8 million home internet subscribers with FWA by 2025.
AT&T, on the other hand, has questioned the ability of FWA to serve the growing demand for data, and as such, as stated that 5G and fiber remain the carrier’s core businesses. At the Bank of America C-Suite TMT 2022 virtual event, Jeff McElfresh, COO of AT&T, commented: “[T]he physics of fixed wireless cannot serve the demand for what a household is looking for, or a business is looking for, for high-quality, premium broadband connectivity … it just really truly is physics. It’s multi-gig symmetrical. Uplink is becoming a much more important component to your broadband experience, and the only technology that offers unfettered and broad and a great experience is a fiber-fed network.”
