Speaking recently with RCR Wireless News, Nextivity CEO Michiel Lotter discussed the company’s recent acquisition of Assured Wireless as well as the launch of Nextivity’s new private networking solution, HARMONY. The two are ushering in a new era of critical communication and in-building connectivity, an era, he argued, that should be defined by seeing a network in its “totality.”
Announced in January, the acquisition of Assured Wireless, explained Lotter, allowed Nextivity to bring HPUE technology into its portfolio. “If you look at all the products that we have, we are about keeping people connected. And nothing keeps you as connected as a HPUE device when you’re at the edge of the network,” he said.
Lotter added that while HPUE technology was initially developed for FirstNet operation in Band 14, the company sees great opportunity in deploying this technology in the many other bands that have been approved for it. And even as Lotter acknowledged that public safety will continue to be a “big push” for Nextivity, he was also clear about the desire to expand the reach of HPUE technology.
“And this is what we see as one of the great opportunities…: to be able to bring this technology to the more than 200 mobile network operators that we have around the world. Aand to consumers, to enable them to really truly be covered right at the edge of the network,” he continued.
As expected, private networks were all the rage at this year’s event. While everyone seems to have something to say about how these networks will come to be and what they will enable, Lotter said it’s important not to think of private cellular connectivity “in isolation” from other networks and networking elements.
“You really have to see the wireless strategy that’s needed by an enterprise in its totality,” he claimed, adding that Wi-Fi is a big part of this conversation, but so is bringing together private networking and public networking, which he claimed is one of the most challenging elements of a complete wireless strategy.
According to Lotter, the company’s CEL-FI QUATRA 4000c active DAS hybrid, launched in January of this year, can do just that. He explained that once the QUATRA 4000c is installed, the enterprise can distribute both public and private networking within that building.
“So, it’s not just about private networking, it’s about that combo between public and private and about Nextivity being able to offer a complete solution to our customers today. We bring the power of the macro network into the building and enhance that with the power of the private network that we offer as a complete service to our customers,” he said. “And that’s really the unique proposition that we bring… the ability to go into an enterprise and really see the totality of what the wireless needs are.”Nextivity also announced a new addition to its GO signal repeater line, the GO G51, which is a fully self-configuring solution that supports mid-band (3.5 GHz) with 100 MHz channel bandwidth. The new GO solution, said Lotter, provides enterprises with an easy and “fundamentally network safe way” to bring “the promise of 5G” indoors.