- CommScope plans to launch a private 5G product in early summer
- CommScope is expected to partner with other vendors to bring this product out
- The company is still keen on Wi-Fi, however, bringing out an AI-enabled product for enterprise Wi-Fi
CommScope subsidiary Ruckus says it is ready to move into private 5G networks for certain mission-critical applications soon, even as it leverages AI to improve Wi-Fi performance for everyday enterprise tasks.
The firm already offers an indoor 5G small cell, called ONECELL. Stuart Holyoak, director of small cell business development at CommScope Ruckus hinted in an interview with Fierce at MWC earlier this month that "some announcement" related to ONECELL is likely to drop in the next "thirty days or so."
Once that happens, he added "we’ll crystallize our new private network story on the back of that...it’ll likely be an integration of our own stuff with third-party integration.”
Asad Khan, 5G research director at SNS Telecom & IT, told Fierce via email the plan is consistent with CommScope's increased strategic focus on the 5G NR-ready ONECELL portfolio for in-building coverage.
“It is also worth mentioning that the company’s former outdoor wireless and DAS (Distributed Antenna Systems) business units have also been involved in several private wireless deployments, from Glencore’s and Newmont’s mining sites in Australia to multi-story office buildings and hospitals in Europe," he added.
Though Holyoak provided scant detail about the forthcoming play, Khan thinks that CommScope could pull in collaborators for its 5G private network effort.
“There are likely multiple partnerships in the works. CommScope has already paired its RUCKUS Wi-Fi 7 access points with Nokia’s optical LAN solutions for deployments in sectors such as education and hospitality," he explained. "By summer, we also foresee a potential collaboration with a mobile core supplier for an end-to-end private 5G solution using CommScope’s small cells."
AI to Wi-Fi’s rescue?
But the company isn't pinning all its hopes on 5G. Mittal Parekh, senior director of product marketing at Ruckus, said that company’s recent launch of “Intent AI” will change how Wi-Fi operates in the enterprise space.
Over the last year, Fierce has spoken to many operators, vendors and companies that say that a private 5G connection is required for robotics on the factory floor. But Ruckus is using AI and machine learning to deliver a far less cluttered Wi-Fi network that will enable tasks like robotics.
“What we’re doing is very simple,” Parekh said. “We use AI to remove noise from the network. You now have a noiseless, highly productive Wi-Fi environment [that has] extra capacity available.”
“Once upon a time, it was like, no, you can’t put a robotic arm on Wi-Fi, but now you can,” he concluded.