Syniverse opens lab that leverages its secure network access service
Network interconnect company Syniverse opened up a testing and development center at its headquarters in Tampa, Florida that will focus on “next-generation services for the internet of things, 5G, blockchain and artificial intelligence,” the company said.
In June, Syniverse launched a secure business network service for mobile network operators, targeting IoT and enterprise connectivity. That network will serve as the foundation for the Syniverse Innovation Lab’s work by providing a secure testing and development environment. Syniverse said that the lab’s first areas of focus will be IoT and 5G, and it will later expand into exploring AI and blockchain. The company said that one of its first supported applications one of the first launched applications using its Syniverse Secure Global Access network is “a smart parking lot that can identify vacant spaces by using noncellular connectivity featuring LoRa.”
The lab will also feature technology demos. Pepper, the humanoid robot developed by SoftBank, will be part of the lab’s demonstrations; Pepper will greet visitors and give information about the lab, according to Syniverse.
In other test news:
–Ericsson, Telstra and Intel said this week that they successfully completed the first end-to-end non-standalone 5G data call on a commercial network, in a multi-vendor environment at 3.5 GHz. The testing was conducted at Telstra’s 5G Innovation Center in Australia and used the carrier’s licensed 3.5 GHz spectrum with Ericsson’s 5G NR radio, baseband and packet core; a personal Telstra SIM card and Intel’s 5G Mobile Trial Platform for 5G NR user equipment.
That Telstra SIM card belonged to Mike Wright, Telstra’s group managing director for networks. In a statement, Wright said, “demonstrating this 5G data call end-to-end using my own personal SIM card on Telstra’s mobile network is the closest any provider has come to making a ’true’ 5G call in the real world-environment, and marks another 5G first for Telstra. We continue to work with global technology companies Ericsson and Intel as well as global standards bodies to advance the deployment of commercial 5G capability in Australia.”
–Keysight Technologies is part of a new European project aimed at supporting vertical-specific 5G development. The 5G Verticals INNovation Infrastructure, or 5G-VINNI, includes 23 partners including vendors, operators and academics that is part of the European Union’s Horizon 2020 initiative. 5G-VINNI will provide a test facility for validating new 5G technologies end-to-end and support development of solutions for industries such as public safety and healthy, transportation, automotive, shipping and media and entertainment, according to a Keysight release.
Keysight’s test solutions will be used and it will also contribute test case development. The approximately $23 million project will run for three years and will be coordinated by Norwegian operator Telenor Group; 5G-VINNI will utilize “advanced network virtualization, slicing, radio and core technologies” and “a rigorous automated testing campaign will be employed to validate 5G under various combinations of technologies and network loads,” according to Keysight.
In related 5G news, Keysight also signed a memorandum of understanding with China Mobile, supporting its 5G Device Forerunner Initiative project for large-scale 5G testing to “accelerate development and industry maturity of 5G devices.”
-ICYMI, the first six Wireless Innovation Forum-approved labs have been announced for conducting testing of devices to ensure that they adhere to WInnForum specs and Federal Communications Commission rules about how to operate in the Citizens Broadband Radio Service spectrum — another step closer to CBRS commercialization.
–Tektronix introduced a number of offerings this week, from a 6 series mid-range oscilloscope that Tek said supports 8 GHz of bandwidth and delivers a 25 GS/s sample rate simultaneously on all 4 channels; support for MIPI Alliance’s System Power Management Interface on its series 5 and that new 6 series mixed-signal oscilloscopes; and several new high-power, low-noise power supplies.
-The most recent crowd-sourced data on mobile network performance for the national carriers arrived this week from Ookla and OpenSignal — read the full story here.
