Network Infrastructure
PR Newswire | January 12, 2024
Iridium Communications Inc., a leading provider of global voice and data satellite communications, today announced Project Stardust, the evolution of its direct-to-device (D2D) strategy with 3GPP 5G standards-based Narrowband-Internet of Things (NB-IoT) Non-Terrestrial Network (NB-NTN) service development. As a new standards-based solution, it will be deployed on Iridium's existing satellite network giving the company a unique ability to offer both high-quality proprietary and standardized D2D and IoT services to its customers.
The early stages of programming Iridium's low-Earth orbiting (LEO) satellites offers a special opportunity to smartphone companies, OEMs, chipmakers, mobile network operators (MNO) and related IoT developers to have their requirements woven into the fabric of the Iridium® network. Iridium is already collaborating directly with several of these companies.
"This is an exciting moment for Iridium and is a testament to the flexibility and capability built into our satellite constellation," said Iridium CEO Matt Desch. "The industry is moving quickly towards a more standards-based approach, and after surveying the field, we found that we're the best positioned to lead the way using our own network, particularly given our true global coverage."
Iridium is designing its initial NB-IoT offering to support 5G NTN messaging and SOS capabilities for smartphones, tablets, cars, and related consumer applications. Adopting the service will enable device manufacturers to add a satellite connection to standardized devices, take advantage of existing, globally allocated and coordinated Iridium spectrum, and provide a superior low-latency LEO user experience. The Iridium network supports approximately 1,300 SOS and emergency (911 or equivalent) incidents per year, around the world and has readily available systems, processes, and partners to implement this capability for new devices.
Iridium understands the market need for its customers to develop and certify products quickly. Applying our established onboarding processes, chipmakers and NB-IoT developers can join Iridium's ecosystem of about 500 partners, and choose a proprietary, standards-based, or dual-solution integration approach for added network redundancy. MNOs will have the opportunity to be a one-stop shop for ubiquitous coverage and off-grid use cases, with unmatched industry reliability. Iridium partners are supported by a 24/7 customer support, back office, billing, and provisioning system, all ready to support the new service upon launch.
The Iridium satellite constellation's fully crosslinked, LEO architecture and global L-band spectrum provides a competitive service advantage versus other LEO and geostationary satellite networks. Certified to provide safety of life services by international regulatory bodies, the Iridium network has become the gold standard of reliability and continues to be the only network that provides connectivity everywhere on Earth. Operating in LEO, the Iridium constellation does not suffer from the same line-of-sight limitations, significant power requirements or outages that can affect entire regions from a single satellite as faced by geostationary systems.
The recognized leader in satellite IoT and personal communications, Iridium has more than two decades of experience and an unmatched partner ecosystem supporting more than 2.2 million users around the world. As of the third quarter of 2023, Iridium subscribers have grown at a 15% CAGR over the last five years, and the company serves approximately 1.7 million IoT customers today, including about 900,000 personal trackers and satellite messengers for consumer, enterprise, and government applications. Known for its reliability, coverage, and low power requirements, the Iridium network is an ideal fit for NB-IoT NTN service.
The company is currently working with several D2D and IoT-focused companies to understand and incorporate their use cases, requirements, and end-user needs into its planned service. The company anticipates testing to begin in 2025, with service in 2026.
About Iridium Communications Inc.
Iridium® is the only mobile voice and data satellite communications network that spans the entire globe. Iridium enables connections between people, organizations and assets to and from anywhere, in real time. Together with its ecosystem of partner companies, Iridium delivers an innovative and rich portfolio of reliable solutions for markets that require truly global communications. In 2019, the company completed a generational upgrade of its satellite network and launched its specialty broadband service, Iridium Certus®. Iridium Communications Inc. is headquartered in McLean, Va., U.S.A., and its common stock trades on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker symbol IRDM.
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5G
PR Newswire | January 07, 2024
Rivada Space Networks, a global network company launching a constellation of 600 low-earth-orbit satellites (LEO) to enable secure, global connectivity for governments and enterprises, is partnering with Wiseband, an Emirati satellite services company, to bring secure connectivity solutions to the Middle East region.
Based in UAE and operating across the Middle East and Africa, Wiseband provides customized private satellite networking solutions which are designed to meet high-performance and stringent security requirements. The company currently has connectivity projects in UAE, KSA, Kuwait and Egypt.
Rivada's global low-latency point-to-point orbital network, the OuterNET™, is a unique next-generation constellation combining inter-satellite laser links with advanced onboard processing to provide unique routing and switching capabilities and create an optical mesh network in space. This orbital network, in which data stays in space from origin to destination, creates an ultra-secure satellite network with pole-to-pole coverage, offering end-to-end latencies lower than terrestrial fiber over similar long distances. And by routing traffic on a physically separated network, it provides a layer of defense for any organization that needs to securely share data between widely distributed sites.
For Enterprise and Government communications, Rivada's OuterNET™ will provide an easy-to-deploy network with higher bandwidth and improved security for resilient and more reliable communications services.
Rivada Space Networks is showcasing the OuterNET™ at the Middle East Space Conference, in Oman from 8th-10th January. Rivada's CEO Declan Ganley will participate in the panel exploring how new satellite networks can play an essential role in bringing connectivity to the Middle East and the prospects for satellite communications services in the region, including:
• How the potential of LEO can be unlocked for data networks and services and the opportunities for new business models and end-user services
• An ultra-secure network is the ambition for global enterprise and government communications and the dynamic powers of laser communications are key
• Partnering with LEO enables Middle Eastern satellite and telecom operators in search of growth to complement and expand services that cannot be supported by GEO alone
Ahmed Hassan, CEO of Wiseband, said: "Wiseband is looking to tap onto Rivada Space Networks' highly secure point-to-point secure communications network to provide advanced and customizable secure solutions to our existing enterprise customers and to develop the emerging markets in Middle East. The OuterNET™ is a fully interconnected orbital network which effectively serves as a private network in space, capable of routing traffic at gigabit speeds from one satellite to another with no need for a gateway on earth. We see this as the key infrastructure for the development of the enterprise and government sectors in the Middle East and beyond."
Declan Ganley, CEO of Rivada Space Networks, said: "We are delighted to be partnering with Wiseband based on their long history and expertise in serving the telecoms sector in Middle East region. Rivada'sOuterNET™ is what data communications has been waiting for – a game-changing constellation that re-defines connectivity in terms of security, latency, capacity, efficiency, and coverage. As a completely new type of LEO constellation, the OuterNET™ can provide the Middle East region with a next-generation infrastructure for secure, resilient communications and network expansion."
About Rivada Space Networks
Rivada Space Networks GmbH is deploying the first true "OuterNET™": a global low latency point-to-point connectivity network of LEO satellites. By connecting its satellites with lasers, Rivada Space Networks will provide resellers and B2B customers with the ability to securely connect any two points on the globe with low latency and high bandwidth. The constellations, comprising 600 low-earth-orbit communications satellites, will represent a fundamental change in the availability of secure, global, end-to-end enterprise-grade connectivity for Telecom, Enterprise, Maritime, Energy and Government Services markets. Rivada Space Networks is a wholly owned subsidiary of Rivada Networks,
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Data Center Networking
PR Newswire | January 09, 2024
NEXCOM, a leading global supplier of network appliances, announced today the company's diverse lineup of fixed wireless access (FWA) solutions is helping expand application of 5G FWA to new uses, from bridging the digital divide to enabling real-time data processing to power smart cities and revolutionize the future of telemedicine. NEXCOM provides a 5G FWA uCPE range tailored for various sectors and use cases.
Today, 5G FWA uCPE applications are boundless, from delivering reliable connectivity in remote areas to ensuring mission-critical communications in industrial settings and powering smart city technology. 5G FWA uCPE is helping provide reliable, low-latency, and high-bandwidth connections, driving innovation on behalf of diverse industry sectors. 5G FWA has already become a major component in achieving nationwide broadband connectivity in the U.S.
The most common 5G FWA application is delivering connectivity where wireless transmission is used to reach the last mile. However, the future applications of this innovative technology are growing to include eMBB (Enhanced Mobile Broadband) in both FR1 and FR2 frequency ranges, URLLC (Ultra-Reliable Low Latency Communication), and mMTC (massive Machine Type Communication). In addition, advanced features now include 5G network slicing, 5G TSN (Time-Sensitive Networking), 5G security, and NTN (non-terrestrial networks), which enables 5G FWA technology to be used as a 5G private network in various settings, including smart factories, smart manufacturing, smart cities, and intelligent transportation.
In response, NEXCOM is delivering a comprehensive 5G FWA uCPE product lineup tailored to different sectors and use cases. Each appliance comes with predefined features and expandable space, allowing users to customize available options to meet specific requirements. NEXCOM 5G FWA uCPE is also integrated with a lightweight network OS for easy set-up and control, designed to simplify network configuration.
"The widespread adoption of 5G FWA underscores the importance of understanding the unique requirements of each application and identifying the most suitable equipment to meet those goals," said Peter Yang, President of NEXCOM. "We're helping provide clarity in the market by tailoring NEXCOM products to cater to the diverse application grades and settings for 5G FWA applications in both private and public networks. Based on NEXCOM's guidelines and feature matrix, Telco operators who are currently weighing their options on hand can easily find out the best equipment after checking the reliability of the device for managing traffic and meeting critical low-latency demands, the necessity for mobility and outdoor long-range connectivity, and building a comprehensive, future-proof solution that caters to both present and future requirements."
5G FWA solutions can be categorized into four attribute grades serving different field applications: Consumer Grade, Enterprise Grade, Industrial Grade, and Telecom Grade. Each one focuses on different features and functions, serving different usage scenarios to better utilize the advantages of 5G FWA. NEXCOM's 5G FWA appliances have been classified based on CPU performance as well as wired and wireless connectivity, with detailed explanations provided in the White Paper.
About NEXCOM
Founded in 1992 and headquartered in Taipei, Taiwan, NEXCOM integrates its diverse capabilities and operates six global businesses, including the Network and Communication Solutions (NCS) unit. NCS focuses on the latest network technology and helps to build reliable network infrastructure, by delivering professional design and manufacturing services for customers all over the world. NCS's network application platform is widely adopted in Cyber Security Appliance, Load Balancer, uCPE, SD-WAN, SASE, Edge Computing, Storage, NVR, and other network applications for businesses of all sizes.
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