Logicalis claims to be the first U.S. partner to deliver Cisco’s private 5G as-a-service, including professional services
Managed service provider Logicalis U.S. announced the launch of its private network services, supported by compatriot networking company Cisco.
Logicalis, which is a Cisco integrator, said it combines its managed services expertise with Cisco networking solutions and an ecosystem of carrier services to deliver subscription-based networking solutions for 4G and 5G. The private network services are based on Cisco’s Private 5G architecture to bring secure connectivity to “complement Wi-Fi for mission critical applications” across industries including manufacturing, warehousing and distribution, mining, oil and gas, state and local government and education.
“Connectivity is crucial to prepare organizations for Industry 4.0, and our private network services will help set up our customers for success by bringing the power of 5G and Wi-Fi together in places where Wi-Fi isn’t enough,” said Chris Calvert, VP of private wireless services for Logicalis U.S. “With Cisco, this offering can help lower costs, integrate with existing infrastructures, improve reliability, and give customers greater simplicity and control, all while ensuring data security through a locally managed network.”
Logicalis said that the new offering will enable customers to customize the ongoing level of support as needed. The end-to-end offering includes from proof-of-concepts, “proof of value” and activations.
“We are committed to working alongside customers as they enhance connectivity and spearhead their organizations’ digital transformation,” said Logicalis U.S. CEO Jon Groves. “The private network services offering is a natural extension of our connectivity expertise. We are now able to combine that knowledge, as well as our professional and managed services support, with one of our strongest industry partnerships to provide a truly innovative, secure networking solution.”
Logicalis claimed to be the first U.S. partner to deliver Cisco Private 5G as-a-service, including professional services for site evaluation and implementation, as well as managed services for ongoing support. Logicalis also said it will oversee the on-site engineering, including site preparation, ordering of solution components, organization of the spectrum, SIM management, staging, creation of customer profiles, core and RAN installation.
“Working together with Logicalis, we can expand enterprise access to 5G and Wi-Fi networks in a secure and reliable way, helping accelerate digital transformation,” said Masum Mir, SVP and general manager of provider mobility at Cisco Networking.
Earlier this year, Cisco and NTT announced a deal to collaborate on private 5G in the automotive, logistics, healthcare, retail, and public sectors. The two companies said they will “co-innovate”, and combine to bring to market both “technology and managed services”. Specifically, they said they would combine NTT’s managed private 5G service with hardware from Intel.
A statement said this combination, alone, will allow customers of both firms to “seamlessly integrate” private 5G into their pre-existing networking and cloud infrastructure. They have already “begun coordination”, they said, on a number of customer deployments. They listed a number of key Industry 4.0 applications to promote as a pair: “push-to-talk ‘walkie talkie’ communications, automated guided vehicles and always-on PCs for frontline workers.
Cisco and NTT will also put focus on developing machine vision solutions for predictive maintenance and analytics for manufacturing equipment, detection of personal protective equipment (PPE), product quality analysis, and autonomous vehicles for moving products on factory floors.
