The new version of the Zeetta Networks platform, which provides a dashboard for managing multiple private enterprise networks, as a “single pane of glass”, has already been tested as well in “large scale” smart city initiatives in the UK, including in Bristol (Bristol is Open) and Bournemouth (Bournemouth Smart Place), as well as in multi-purpose venues including Ashton Gate stadium.
Zeetta Networks’ open-source software is compatible with open radio access (O-RAN) cellular networks and other open networking technologies, in line with the UK government’s supply chain diversification strategy on 5G networks, which has made casualties of the likes of Huawei and ZTE, notably. A statement said “homegrown British innovation” will also create jobs and drive investment, and help to drive the country’s economic recovery from Covid-19.
The UK strategy sets out the government’s “plan to improve the resilience of the UK’s telecoms networks, boost competition and innovation in the 5G supply market, and put the country in the strongest position to unlock the wealth of economic and business benefits that 5G promises,” the statement said.
Vassilis Seferidis, founder and chief executive at Zeetta Networks, said: “As it stands today, Zeetta is the only company in the world able to visualise, control and manage connectivity services in such a vendor and technology agnostic way. This puts the UK at the forefront of 5G technology innovation which, when combined with network slicing and splicing, will be revolutionary for designing and operating networks now and in the future.”
Matt Warman, the minister for digital infrastructure, said: “The race is on to upgrade to 5G and unleash a wave of innovation across the country, so we are pleased to support Bristol firm Zeetta Networks as it brings its world-leading networking software to the UK market. Having a new and smaller supplier such as Zeetta developing this revolutionary technology supports our efforts to build back better with a more resilient and diverse telecoms supply chain”.
The 5G ENCODE project is geared towards three key industrial 5G use cases to improve productivity and effectiveness of composite design and manufacture: interactive augmented and virtual reality (AR and VR); asset tracking across multiple sites and locations; and industrial system management. The project will make use of slicing technologies from Zeetta Networks for use with private and public networks. A private 5G testbed is being built within the National Composites Centre (NCC) in Bristol the various use cases.
Zeetta Networks is leading the effort. A consortium of 10 other companies – including Telefonica, Siemens, Druid Software, Toshiba, Solvay, and Baker Hughes, as well as the National Composites Centre (NCC), the University of Bristol, and the West of England Combined Authority (WECA) – is also involved. The project aims to deliver “real-life impact” by September 2020, and runs until March 2022, when similar commercial 5G deployments are expected across a variety of manufacturing hubs in the UK.
Zeetta Networks has a deal with Germany-based open networking specialist Stordis to develop and distribute its management software for private LTE and 5G networks to enterprise resellers globally. The deal covers distribution of the Zeetta Enterprise network management platform, which affords enterprises control over complex multi-vendor, multi-site private cellular networks. Stordis will also integrate the platform into its portfolio of open radio networking (openRAN) solutions to offer enterprises more bespoke solutions.
Zeetta Networks appears with panellists from ABI Research, EXFO, Metaswitch (Microsoft), and VoltDB on a new webinar on industrial 5G SLAs. The webinar is available here.
