Mavenir will provide Ligado with its complete portfolio of cloud native solutions to address mobile core, IoT and Open vRAN for 5G
Ligado Networks announced a deal with Mavenir to develop base stations as part of its plan to deploy a 5G mobile satellite network for Internet of Things (IoT) connections, with trials of the services planned for 2022.
This latest development comes on the heels of a June announcement that the pair will work to establish open Radio Access Network (RAN)-compliant remote radio units and cloud-native Open RAN software compatible with Ligado’s L-band spectrum. For this phase of the partnership, Mavenir will provide its complete portfolio of cloud native solutions to address mobile core, IoT and Open vRAN for 5G.
“We are excited to work with Ligado on ORAN-based 5G base station development. With this engagement, Mavenir and the ORAN ecosystem not only strengthen their place in enterprise deployments but also enter a phase of innovation in cellular service delivery via non-terrestrial networks,” said Pardeep Kohli, president and CEO of Mavenir. “We are looking forward to expanding our Open RAN product portfolio to meet the evolving needs of terrestrial and non-terrestrial networks and their co-existence in the future.”
The satellite network, according to Ligado, will support tens of millions of mobile devices powering critical machine-to-machine communications for businesses and will provide standalone satellite or multi-layer connections to enterprise customers in a variety of industries including agriculture and energy.
In a press release, the company also explained that the satellite network adds “extended coverage and network redundancy” to its planned 5G mobile private network solution, which is part of its larger enterprise play.
“We are deeply committed to supporting critical infrastructure enterprises as they modernize their operations for a 21st Century economy,” said Ligado chief executive officer Doug Smith in the release. “Ubiquitous network coverage and reliability are especially essential for critical device communications, which makes our 5G satellite IoT network a pivotal tool to ensure always-on connectivity and data management for an enterprise’s entire fleet of devices.”
In a March interview with Light Reading, Smith discussed Ligado’s increasing interest in private 5G networks, stating that the company’s satellite assets represent “a powerful differentiator.”
“We think, from an enterprise standpoint, there is a great need that we can fill,” he told the media outlet. “And that’s everything from additional automation, machine-to-machine connectivity or things like very low latency, high reliability and security that are so important to supporting critical infrastructure.”
Ligado, as mentioned above, owns spectrum in the 1600 MHz L-band, around 40 megahertz of it, and recently, the FCC voted to allow the company to conduct terrestrial 5G operations as well as satellite communications in this spectrum.
This, coupled with Ligado’s February collaboration with Japan’s Rakuten Mobile to deploy the Rakuten Communications Platform (RCP) in a trial 5G private network, is helping the satellite company make strides towards its goal of establishing an environment in which satellite and terrestrial networks operate in harmony.
The company has also been clear about its plan to adapt 3GPP standards-based technology for mobile satellite use, enabling the network to support devices using low-cost chipsets that can also operate on terrestrial IoT networks.
“We’re delighted to apply Mavenir’s unmatched 5G network technology prowess to deliver 3GPP-based IoT services via the crucial mobile satellite network layer,” said Ligado CTO Maqbool Aliani. “Ligado’s uniquely capable North American satellite network unlocks a highly compelling market by bringing mainstream IoT devices to a continental satellite footprint.”
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