RAKwireless, making hardware systems for the LoRaWAN-end of the IoT market, notably for the Helium community networks movement, has launched a ‘5G-in-a-box’ hotspot solution, available to system integrators and enterprises to support private 5G setups and experiments. The package features dual 5G and LTE radio and core networks, plus some in-box compute capability. RAKwireless has called it the “first small cell with an integrated core network”.
It has jumped on Vodafone’s news from a couple of days ago of a prototype 5G box system, equivalent in size to a Wi-Fi router unit, to declare its all-in-one product is “already ready for commercial deployment”. But as noted in the Vodafone coverage, box-ready LTE and 5G systems are hardly uncommon, with the likes of Nokia, as well as Athonet and Druid Software, dropping them into music events, crisis zones, and other temporary networking venues.
Still, RAKwireless, which received $10m as part of its Series A round in 2021, led by Hong Kong NWS Holding Limited, has said its unit – also based on a Rapberry Pi; and which its marketing team has curiously dubbed ‘All-in-one. 5G’, specifying the daft usage of a period (so it will not be called by name again in this article) – “bring(s) core network processing closer to the network edge than ever before… [to] provide a platform for businesses to innovate with new network applications.”
The network core uses Magma, the open-source Linux Foundation project that supports 4G-LTE, non-standalone and standalone (NSA and SA) 5G NR core network applications. The small cell supports LoRaWAN and Wi-Fi 6, also. The implication is the unit, offering cut-down core functionality, is geared for agile Industry 4.0 development – including for “robotics in a warehouse, drones within a factory, or IoT devices within an office environment.
RAKwireless said it connects to “more comprehensive… carrier-grade” core offerings from “AWS and Monogoto”, as well, and put particular focus on the AWS developer ecosystem. “[Few] small cells offer integration with AWS. [This] now makes this easier – [to] enable developers to create new network applications for their businesses. It is designed for organisations that want to innovate with 5G and not just use it as a passive network,” it said.
Ken Yu, chief executive at RAKwireless, said: “[This product] makes it easier for businesses to install, run and manage a private network with a single piece of technology for the small cell and core network. Featuring plug-and-play SON capabilities, [the] planning, configuration, management and optimization of the network is straightforward. Companies looking at 5G [also want] to innovate and deploy new IoT technology to improve operations and better serve their customers. [This] will foster a culture of knowledge sharing using open source and the open APIs available across the developer community to bring the potential of 5G to life.”
