The new private network: Federated Wireless bows connectivity as a service
Federated Wireless Inc., a spectrum sharing firm still digesting a cash infusion of $51 million in 2019, has unveiled private network services that are reminiscent of Wi-Fi setups and are being marketed very much like cloud services.
Federated is, in fact, partnering with Amazon.com’s AWS and Microsoft Corp.’s Azure cloud services to provide a turnkey network service that uses carrier-grade citizens broadband radio service (CBRS) spectrum.
The company describes its end-to-end communications managed service as the first connectivity-as-a-service and one that can be tailored for edge and IoT applications.
Federated has created 31 CBRS networks and reportedly has orders for 50 more. The partnership with cloud providers is all about using cloud marketplaces to simplify the process of ordering and paying for service.
A business feeling its Wi-Fi network interference is reaching intolerable levels but unwilling to create its own private network could log into AWS or Azure to order a 4G or, eventually, 5G network operating on the unlicensed part of the citizens broadband spectrum recently opened up to commercialization in late 2019.
Executives at Federated say the appeal of simplicity that sells buyers on the cloud also will entice chief information officers to their new private-network service.
Federated buys all the hardware and software at the time of the order, installs it at the buyer’s site, manages it and operates as the single point of support, all as part of a monthly subscription. Services and infrastructure can be changed or updated as needed.
The service promises five-9s service level agreements. Buyers have secure control of the networks and the data transiting them.
Federated’s service can be integrated with apps offered by AWS and Azure, including security, automation, logistics, and communications, the company says.
An AWS listing for Federated’s service prices it at $370 per month, paid through the buyer’s AWS account. Azure did not list the service as of March 1.
Company executives in interviews have insisted that they have no intention of being a carrier, just a white-label bundle of goods and services.
Federated received $51 million in a Series-C tranche in September. The company explicitly stated that the money would be used to expand its capacity to sell and support citizens broadband. It is a subsidiary of Allied Minds PLC, an intellectual property commercialization firm.
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Article Topics
AWS | CBRS | cloud computing | enterprise | Federated Wireless | Microsoft | private networks | wireless
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