Network design and services firm Betacom has struck a channel sales deal (“integrated delivery model”) with Qualcomm whereby enterprise customers in the Industry 4.0 space will be able to link Betacom’s private 5G network design and management service with Qualcomm’s RAN automation and management offering, plus a ready stable of Qualcomm-approved deployment partners.
Qualcomm acquired Israeli network service management and orchestration specialist Cellwize in June. Cellwize’s cloud-based CHIME product, the RAN automation platform in the new Betacom go-to-market deal, makes use of artificial intelligence (AI) for network optimization of open RAN, virtualized RAN, and traditional RAN setups. The Cellwize acquisition is supposed to bolster Qualcomm’s private and public 5G RAN automation offer.
Betacom so-called 5GaaS design and management service, for CBRS-based private network deployments in the US, is supposed to deliver “lightning-fast 5G networks, with network management delivered via [a] cloud-based security and service operations centre (SSOC) built on zero-trust [access]”. The management function will now leverage the old CHIME automation platform. Customers of both firms will be able to combine the twin offers.
A statement said: “This collaboration is aimed at giving clients access to an end-to-end, off-the-shelf private network service that has been fully tested and validated and is backed by extensive expertise and support. Betacom will provide network design, delivery and management, with Qualcomm’s private 5G RAN automation technology enabling client business transformation and expanding the benefits of 5G.”
Gerardo Giaretta, senior director of product management at Qualcomm, said: “Qualcomm is at the forefront of private network acceleration with offerings… to streamline design, deployment, and operation across… industries and use cases. Our latest tech innovations, including our RAN automation and management offering, coupled with collaboration from companies like Betacom, fuels the proliferation of private 5G network benefits for enterprises.”
Johan Bjorklund, chief executive at Betacom, said: “We look forward to working closely with Qualcomm to bring the benefits of private networks to more businesses across the entire US supply chain. This collaboration with Qualcomm will help the US move even faster to elevate its place in the world economy through realisation of the benefits of Industry 4.0.”
Texas logistics company Teltech Group, which has already signed Betacom to manage deployment of an Airspan-made private LTE/5G network in the CBRS band at its 200,000 square-foot warehouse in the Dallas/Fort Worth metropolitan area, is “trialing this unique combination”, said Betacom.
Lisa Hanlon-Knight, chief executive at Teltech, commented: “The ability to deploy lab-tested and field-hardened software and device combinations from Qualcomm atop Betacom’s 5G service gives us confidence… that private networks are the future… for Teltech… The private network [from] Betacom… and the expansive ecosystem [from] Qualcomm… lets us know we… have leading-edge tech… and that deployment and management will be fast, easy, and cost-efficient.”
