Most salons, spas, and barbershops have two challenges at the same time:
And in shared retail centers, there’s a third missed opportunity:
GoZone Smart Wi‑Fi turns your guest Wi‑Fi into a simple marketing engine:
Recommended starting fields:
Even if you don’t have a formal loyalty program, Contact Manager helps you:
Examples:
Send a post-visit follow-up that:
Run “neighbor” campaigns to convert nearby visitors into appointments.
Start the Business Starter plan and begin capturing opt-in contacts immediately. Optional: add SMS capture for faster reminders and responses.
Strategic hire underscores the company’s focus on building a high-performing, future-ready workforce to support global expansion and meet the growing demands for its AI-driven customer experience solutions.
Bangaluru, India – May 7, 2026 –
The appointment comes as Aprecomm expands its global footprint and accelerates its investment in AI-driven solutions. As the company scales, it is placing increased importance on cultivating a highly engaged workforce and retaining critical talent to sustain innovation and operational excellence.
Commenting on the appointment, Pramod Gummaraj, Founder & CEO of Aprecomm, said:
“We are delighted to welcome Sapna to Aprecomm at a pivotal moment in our growth journey. As we continue to scale globally, our people remain our greatest strength. Sapna’s deep expertise in building high-performing, engaged organizations will be instrumental in creating an environment where employees feel valued, empowered, and inspired to innovate. Her leadership will play a critical role in strengthening our culture and ensuring we retain and develop the talent needed to drive our AI-led vision forward.”
Kizhekkeveettil will be responsible for aligning people strategies with the company’s broader business and technology roadmap, while embedding engagement and retention into core organisational practices. Her mandate includes developing programmes that support employee growth, foster a strong workplace culture and improve workforce stability in a competitive talent landscape.
She brings over 20 years of experience in human resources, with deep expertise in employee engagement, organisational development and talent management across multiple industries and geographies. Most recently, she served as Global CHRO at Nexusnow.ai, where she led HR initiatives spanning India, the United States, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region, with a focus on strengthening employee engagement and retention across diverse teams.
Sharing her perspective on the new role, Kizhekkeveettil said:
“I am excited to join Aprecomm at such a dynamic stage of its journey. The company’s commitment to innovation and growth is matched by a clear focus on its people. I look forward to working closely with teams across the organisation to build an inclusive, engaging and high-performance culture where employees can thrive. Strengthening engagement and retention will be central to our efforts as we continue to scale and deliver impact globally.”
Her previous roles include leading HR at ALTEN India, where she drove initiatives to enhance the employee experience, build performance-driven cultures, and improve retention. She has also held leadership positions at Prime Focus Technologies, Max New York Life Insurance, and Tata AIG General Insurance Company Limited, overseeing key areas including talent acquisition, compliance, and employee engagement. Additionally, her work with Triangle Communications provided international exposure to engagement and workforce development programs.
Kizhekkeveettil’s appointment reflects a broader trend across the technology sector, where organisations are prioritising employee engagement and retention as strategic drivers of growth and innovation.
Aprecomm develops AI-based platforms for broadband service providers, enabling predictive network management and WiFi performance optimisation. With its solutions deployed across millions of homes and businesses globally, and partnerships with more than 50 service providers, the company is increasingly focused on building a resilient, engaged, and future-ready workforce.
Kizhekkeveettil’s bio can be found here: https://aprecomm.ai/our-story-people/
About AprecommAprecomm harnesses the power of AI to provide a unique applications suite that enables service providers to create self-optimizing and self-healing broadband networks.
Our quality-of-experience engine monitors and optimizes WiFi performance to ensure consumers enjoy the best possible internet experience. At the same time, our cloud-based support applications leverage real-time data to predict and resolve customer service issues before they happen, saving providers time and money.
Aprecomm manages over 7 million home and business locations and partners with more than 50 service providers worldwide.
We’re making intuitive, self-healing networks a reality.
Follow Aprecomm on LinkedIn here.
Paris, France – May 7, 2026 – Ahead of ANGA COM 2026, Airties, a global leader of AI-driven software that improves the connectivity experience for ISPs’ subscribers, today announced the commercial availability of Airties Lite to remotely manage the experience of retail-purchased gateways/routers using the TR-369 (USP) standard, without requiring an embedded software agent on consumers’ hardware. The launch provides ISPs serving markets with high concentrations of consumer-purchased hardware with a fast and low-friction path to gain better visibility into network conditions, improve performance, and deliver more consistent customer care across their subscriber base.
In numerous markets across the globe, such as Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Japan, etc., many consumers still purchase their own gateways/routers before subscribing to an ISP, leaving operators without the ability to observe, diagnose, and fix issues, or easily resolve related customer care issues. By leveraging TR-369 (USP), Airties Lite gives operators the ability to monitor and understand the performance of retail routers/gateways; leverage key diagnostics, analytics and recommendations; and deliver proactive campaigns to target homes in need of connectivity enhancements. Notably, Airties Lite also shares the same AI-driven cloud platform, user interface, and care workflow tools as the full Airties Home suite, giving operators a single, unified toolset to manage both fully integrated and retail-purchased gateways side by side.
“For ISPs in markets where retail gateways are more the norm, the inability to observe and manage the home broadband experience is a costly problem in terms of performance quality and customer satisfaction,” said Metin Taskin, CEO and co-founder of Airties. “These homes also clearly represent a larger churn risk, which remains the paramount financial issue ISPs face today. Airties Lite puts our AI-driven diagnostics and intelligence within reach of any operator with retail gateways that support TR-369 to reduce churn and create new revenue opportunities. Since it shares the same back-end cloud platform as our Airties Home suite, ISPs can now receive a consistent, unified view across their subscriber base, regardless of how their gateways came into their networks.”
“Retail purchased gateways present a persistent blind spot for broadband operators,” said Martin Scott, Research Director at Analysys Mason. “Unlike ISP provisioned CPE, these devices often fall outside the operational frameworks operators use to monitor, diagnose, and resolve in home connectivity issues at scale. By building on established device management approaches, standards such as TR-369 (USP) and the TR-181 data model offer a more scalable and structured path to extending visibility and control across increasingly heterogeneous home networks.”
Key Capabilities of Airties Lite
Airties Lite delivers core capabilities of Airties Home on compatible gateways for Wi-Fi optimization requiring only that the gateway supports TR-369. Key benefits include:
Airties will showcase its complete portfolio of Connectivity Experience Management software solutions at ANGA COM 2026 in Cologne, Germany from May 19–21, in Hall 7 stand A19, including Airties Home, Airties Pro, Airties Multi, and Airties Nova. In addition, Airties CEO and co-founder, Metin Taskin, will speak on the executive session titled: “Enabling the Next-Gen Home Broadband Experience” on May 19, from 17:00 to 18:00 CEST, in Room 2. Among the topics to be discussed will be findings published in a recent Airties’ whitepaper, “The Hidden Cost of Broadband Churn,” about the multibillion-dollar industry problem of experience-based subscriber churn and implications for ISPs.
Airties has received many prestigious industry awards for its innovations, including: “Best Home Wi-Fi Solution Award” from Broadband World Forum; “Best Wi-Fi Service Provider Solution” and “Best Home Wi-Fi Product” awards from Wi-Fi NOW; “Best Wi-Fi Innovation” and “Best-In Home Wi-Fi Network” awards from Wireless Broadband Alliance; “Best Broadband Customer Experience” from Cable & Satellite International; and numerous others. Additional information about Airties can be found at: www.airties.com.
About Airties
Airties empowers operators to provide smooth, smart, secure connectivity. Airties turns smart connectivity into a competitive advantage for operators and enhances how subscribers experience connectivity in the real world: making every connection smarter and more reliable. Airties’ AI-driven insights enable operators to lower churn, reduce expenses, boost satisfaction, and attract new customers. Across departments, from engineering to marketing, Airties helps increase efficiency, accelerate innovation, and design smarter campaigns. Airties’ holistic suite of hardware-agnostic software enables ISPs to manage connectivity, based on leading industry standards and open-source software, across their fibre, cable/DSL, and fixed wireless access (FWA) deployments. Airties’ customers include leading service providers such as AT&T, Cox, Deutsche Telekom, Telia, Telstra, T-Mobile US, Vodafone, and many others across the world. More information is available at www.airties.com.
The future of long-range wireless connectivity was on full display at Wi-Fi World Congress 2026, where industry leaders, innovators, and ecosystem partners gathered to discuss the next phase of connected systems. One message stood out clearly: Wi-Fi HaLow has moved beyond early curiosity and into real-world deployment momentum.
Across industrial automation, utilities, transportation, security, and smart infrastructure, organizations are adopting Wi-Fi HaLow to solve connectivity challenges that traditional wireless technologies often struggle to address. With long range, lower power consumption, strong signal penetration, and native IP networking, Wi-Fi HaLow is proving to be a practical solution for modern Industrial IoT environments.
For Gateworks, the event was especially meaningful as Kelly Peralta took the stage to present “Wi-Fi HaLow for the Long Run.” Her presentation used a marathon theme to illustrate the persistence, engineering discipline, and long-term commitment required to bring transformative wireless technologies to market.
Kelly highlighted that many companies entered the market early, but few stayed committed through technical hurdles, certification requirements, and the patience required for industrial adoption. Gateworks remained focused on delivering production-ready embedded platforms that help customers move from evaluation to deployment faster.
Built on the IEEE 802.11ah standard, Wi-Fi HaLow was designed for environments where conventional Wi-Fi can fall short, including large industrial campuses, remote infrastructure sites, utility networks, warehouses, and facilities with dense walls or interference challenges.
Wi-Fi HaLow is no longer theoretical. It is now being deployed in markets where range, reliability and scalability matter most.
Examples discussed at the event included:
These applications often require fewer access points, lower infrastructure costs, and the ability to connect many endpoints across wide coverage areas. Wi-Fi HaLow helps meet these demands while preserving simple IP-native integration.
Industry forecasts expect annual Wi-Fi HaLow-enabled device shipments to exceed 100 million units by 2029, reinforcing the momentum now building across multiple vertical markets.
A major contributor to this growth is Gateworks partner Morse Micro. Their MM8108 chipset continues to advance Wi-Fi HaLow performance and efficiency for next-generation devices.
Key advantages of the MM8108 include:
Gateworks integrates this technology into the GW16167 M.2 module, giving OEM customers a production-ready path to deploy Wi-Fi HaLow across Gateworks Venice, VeniceFLEX, and Catalina single board computers.
Early deployments continue to validate the promise of Wi-Fi HaLow in demanding environments.
“The reliability of the HaLow network under extremely demanding conditions exceeded our wildest expectations—we have not been able to break it. We evaluated multiple HaLow technology partners, and it is clear that Gateworks was and remains the best choice for our requirements. Gateworks has exceeded our expectations across the board; it is rare to find a partner that delivers both top-tier technology and a genuine commitment to our success, but Gateworks does exactly that.”
Scott Carter, Chief R&D Engineer, Gatekeeper Systems
“Many conventional wireless technologies struggle to simultaneously deliver the long-range coverage, device density, and bandwidth efficiency required in these environments. The IEEE 802.11ah Wi-Fi HaLow platform from Morse Micro uniquely addresses this gap by providing sub-GHz connectivity optimized for long-range, low-power, and large-scale IoT deployments.
Combined with the robust embedded computing platforms and support from Gateworks, this solution enables scalable communications across large solar sites while maintaining system simplicity and cost efficiency. We see this technology partnership as a key enabler in advancing the next generation of intelligent, distributed energy infrastructure.”
Shreyas Kukanni, Senior Director, Engineering & Technology, Gigagrid
In the applications I’ve deployed thus far the HaLow hardware and software have performed far beyond what I had originally hoped for. HaLow is a remarkably useful and versatile specification, and fits our applications like a glove.
Curtis Johnson, Chief R&D Engineer, Southern US Rail Company
By embedding Gateworks’ cutting-edge Wi-Fi HaLow technology, we have effectively erased the boundaries of traditional wireless, sparking a revolution in long-range, IP-native connectivity. By harnessing unparalleled signal penetration, we maintain operational continuity in the shadows where traditional systems simply go dark.
Gateworks sub-GHz powerhouse serves as the core backhaul for our IP Mesh MANET radio, where HaLow’s ability to pierce through concrete, steel, and dense foliage meets our high-performance architecture.
While our high-powered competition (consuming 2000mW to over 4000mW) fails at non-line-of-sight ranges of less than half a kilometer, we achieve that same performance on our lowest transmit power setting of only 63mW while also maintaining a stable HD video steam. This ensures ultra-low power consumption and a minimal RF footprint for low-detection operations.
Gateworks represents more than an incremental upgrade; its elite engineering at its finest; a definitive, unbreakable, and discrete solution for today’s most demanding mission-critical environments.
Serafin, Owner/Engineer, Off Grid Solutions
Wi-Fi HaLow momentum is no longer just a forecast. It is now visible in shipping products, active deployments and growing ecosystem support.
Gateworks remains committed to helping customers bring rugged, production-ready Wi-Fi HaLow systems to market with trusted embedded computing platforms, Linux support and long lifecycle availability.
As the market continues to scale, Gateworks is proud to be in it for the long run.
If you close your eyes and picture a mine, you probably imagine dusty boots, heavy machinery, and the rhythmic sound of rock being crushed. And while that’s still part of reality, the “brains” of the operation have shifted dramatically. Today’s mining landscape is less about brute force and more about bytes, bits, and the invisible threads of wireless connectivity that keep everything moving. The industry now relies on automation and innovation as its operational reality.
Automation has become foundational to the modern mining industry. The following applications are a reality in many mining operations.
Why the rapid adoption? It comes down to two primary drivers: safety and productivity. Safety is the most critical factor; by moving operators from hazardous pits into remote control centers, we effectively remove humans from the most dangerous zones. Simultaneously, productivity gains are substantial. For example, autonomous haul trucks do not require coffee breaks or shift changes, allowing them to keep the cycle moving 24/7.
However, there is a caveat: automation is only as effective as the network that powers it.
You can have the most advanced tele-remote dozer in the world, but if its connection drops while it’s navigating a steep grade, you end up with expensive paperweight.
Mining environments are notoriously hostile. We’re talking about massive open pits or deep, signal-dampening underground tunnels filled with dust, vibration, and extreme temperature swings. A standard office Wi-Fi setup simply won’t cut it.
To support mission-critical applications, the network must provide:
To meet the extreme demands of modern mining, Cisco has developed a portfolio specifically engineered for these harsh environments. At the heart of this solution is the Cisco Catalyst IW9167E Heavy Duty Access Point. Built to survive the most challenging conditions, this device is IP66/IP67-rated, ensuring total protection against dust, water, and it can withstand extreme temperature fluctuations and vibrations.
When paired with Cisco Ultra-Reliable Wireless Backhaul (URWB), the IW9167E transforms from a simple access point into a mission-critical communication backbone. Unlike traditional wireless technologies, URWB is designed specifically for continuous mobility. It provides fiber-like reliability and seamless handoffs, ensuring that autonomous trucks and remote-controlled equipment maintain a rock-solid connection even while traversing vast, rugged pits at speed. With URWB, “zero packet loss” becomes a standard operational reality, eliminating the risk of equipment downtime due to network drops.
Proven in the Field: Validated Designs and Partnerships
We know that in mining, theoretical performance isn’t enough; solutions must be proven under pressure. Cisco doesn’t just provide hardware; we provide a roadmap for success.
Our commitment to reliability is best demonstrated through our Cisco Validated Designs (CVDs). These are comprehensive, validated design guides that remove the guesswork from network deployment. By visiting our Cisco Mining Design Zone, you can access architectures that have been tested and verified in lab environments to ensure they meet the rigorous demands of the mining sector.
Real-world success stories, such as our work with Aterpa, highlight the transformative power of these solutions. Aterpa leveraged our technology to support tele-remote operations for dam decommissioning projects, enabling work in environments where human presence was not allowed.
Furthermore, our strategic partnership with global industry leaders like Caterpillar allows us to rigorously test and validate our wireless solutions against the specific applications and machinery used on-site. This collaborative approach ensures that when you deploy Cisco, you are deploying a solution that has been tested and validated by key players in the mining industry.
Whether you are looking to enhance safety by removing personnel from hazardous zones or aiming to boost productivity through 24/7 autonomous operations, the right network is foundational to your entire operation.
Don’t let connectivity gaps hold your operation back. Cisco is here to help you design, deploy, and scale a wireless network that is resilient to support your operations. If you are ready to learn more about how our industrial wireless solutions can drive efficiency in your specific mining environment, we invite you to reach out to our team today. Let’s build the future of mining together.
Aprecomm accelerates growth in Latin America as Nicnet rolls out AI-powered customer experience and CPE management solutions nationwide.
São Paulo, Brazil – April 29, 2026 – Nicnet, one of Brazil’s leading fibre optic internet providers, today announced a partnership with Aprecomm, a provider of AI-driven network and customer experience (CX) solutions, to enhance broadband performance and customer satisfaction across its network.
“In markets such as Brazil, Chile, and Argentina, the shift to fibre has raised expectations and intensified competition. As a result, quality of experience is now a key battleground, and operators that invest in understanding and improving in- home service performance are better positioned for success,” said Martin Scott, Research Director at Analysys Mason.
Through this collaboration, Nicnet will deploy Aprecomm’s full portfolio of AI-powered CX and CPE management solutions, including intelligent WiFi optimization and cloud-based device management. The platform enables remote upgrades of existing devices and seamless integration with Nicnet’s broadband gateways. Deployment is already underway, with coverage expected to reach 500,000 homes by the end of 2026.
“We are excited about implementing the Aprecomm platform, a partnership that combines technological innovation with a strong focus on customer experience. By integrating Artificial Intelligence into our network, we are transforming our support into a proactive operation that optimizes WiFi and mitigates failures in real time.”
“This set of solutions allows us to drive sustainable growth with complete hardware independence. It is a crucial strategic differentiator to maintain excellence and technical agility, ensuring a superior and consistent experience throughout our expansion process,” said Walter Kotani, Director of Networks at Nicnet. “The internet market has changed. Today, customers don’t just want speed—they want stability. We realized that many ‘slow internet’ issues were due to WiFi problems and local interference. Aprecomm comes in as the missing brain: an artificial intelligence that allows us to see what happens inside the customer’s home and fix issues in real time, often before the customer even picks up the phone to call our support.”
Aprecomm’s CX suite supports both residential and business subscribers, helping broadband service providers optimize connectivity and streamline operations. Its advanced AI and proprietary quality-of-experience algorithms enable a shift toward zero-touch networks—where issues are identified and resolved automatically before impacting users. Built on a self-healing WiFi framework, Aprecomm’s platform continuously adapts network performance to meet the unique demands of each user and application. Its advanced analytics and automated support capabilities deliver deep customer insights and real-time network visibility, helping service providers improve subscriber satisfaction and reduce operational costs.
Aprecomm’s CX suite is field proven to enhance user experience and operational efficiency. The company was recently recognized with the Frost & Sullivan Best Practices Award for Innovation and named Analytics & Intelligence Champion and AI & GenAI Pioneer by The Fast Mode.
“We are proud to partner with Nicnet as we continue expanding across Latin America,” said Pramod Gummaraj, Founder & CEO of Aprecomm. “Nicnet’s commitment to customer experience aligns perfectly with our mission. Together, we’re leveraging AI to create a powerful customer experience-driven competitive advantage in a rapidly evolving market.”
About Nicnet
Nicnet is recognized as a fibre optic internet provider based in the interior of São Paulo, with Ribeirão Preto serving as the strategic hub of its regional operations. With a presence spanning from Barretos to Porto Ferreira, the company’s mission is to facilitate access to technology and establish itself as a benchmark in connectivity. It positions itself as a strategic partner for various everyday needs—from work and education to entertainment.
In recent years, Nicnet has stood out for the consistent growth of its customer base, expanding its operations with Wi-Fi and Data Centre solutions, as well as incorporating technological innovations to enhance subscriber experience. This reflects the company’s commitment to quality, continuous evolution, and excellence in service delivery.
Among the milestones in its trajectory are connectivity operations in high-demand environments, such as the Parque do Peão in Barretos, as well as its presence at major events held in Ribeirão Preto, reinforcing its technical capability to support large-scale projects and experiences that require high performance and reliability.
Press Contact:
Walter Kotani, Director of Networks, +55 16 99750-6166
About Aprecomm
Aprecomm harnesses the power of AI to provide a unique applications suite that enables service providers to create self-optimizing and self-healing broadband networks.
Our quality-of-experience engine monitors and optimizes WiFi performance to ensure consumers enjoy the best possible internet experience. At the same time, our cloud-based support applications leverage real-time data to predict and resolve customer service issues before they happen, saving providers time and money.
Aprecomm manages over 7 million home and business locations and partners with more than 50 service providers worldwide.
We’re making intuitive, self-healing networks a reality.
Follow Aprecomm on LinkedIn here.
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WASHINGTON, D.C. – May 4, 2026 — DNSFilter, a cybersecurity company that protects every click, proudly announced today that CRN®, a brand of The Channel Company, has recognized Kate Trojanowski, Virginia McKeon, Wasam (Sam) Youssef on the prestigious Women of the Channel list for 2026.
This annual CRN list celebrates women from vendors, distributors, solution providers and other channel-focused organizations who make a positive difference in the IT ecosystem. The CRN 2026 Women of the Channel honorees are innovative and strategic leaders committed to advancing channel excellence and supporting the success of their partners and customers.
Kate Trojanowski, Virginia McKeon, Sam Youssef each bring a distinct and complementary contribution to DNSFilter’s channel business. McKeon, Partner Development Manager with eight years in the MSP channel, has driven partner growth through relationship-first execution, guiding MSPs through discovery, onboarding, and pricing while serving as an internal advocate for partner needs. Trojanowski, Vice President of Product with more than 15 years in the industry, has strengthened DNSFilter’s channel by embedding a partner-informed perspective into product strategy, relaunching the beta program to create earlier feedback loops, and hosting recurring product webinars to improve enablement across both DNSFilter and Zorus audiences. Youssef, Partner Success Manager, managed a portfolio of more than 220 MSP partners over the past year, facilitating onboarding, driving contract renewals and expansions, and delivering 119% Net Revenue Retention in Q3 and 113% NRR year-to-date.
“It’s a privilege to celebrate the remarkable achievements of these women who are driving meaningful change across the IT channel,” said Jennifer Follett, VP of U.S. Content and Executive Editor, CRN at The Channel Company. “Each honoree has demonstrated exceptional leadership and a commitment to bold, innovative strategies that fuel transformation, growth, and success for their organizations and the broader channel. We’re proud to recognize their impact and look forward to seeing how they continue to shape the future of our industry.”
Kate Trojanowski, Vice President of Product, DNSFilter: “This recognition means a great deal, especially in a year focused on building the right foundation for partner-led growth. Product and channel don’t always speak the same language, but bridging that gap has been my priority. When MSPs have a direct line into the roadmap, everyone wins, and I’m committed to keeping that feedback loop strong in 2026 and beyond.”
Virginia McKeon, Partner Development Manager, DNSFilter: “Being recognized on the CRN Women of the Channel list is a reflection of the partners I get to work with every day. The MSP community runs on trust, and my goal has always been to show up as a reliable, long-term resource, not just another sales contact. I’m proud to represent DNSFilter and the channel relationships we’re building together.”
Wasam (Sam) Youssef, Partner Success Manager, DNSFilter: “I’m honored to be included alongside such accomplished women shaping the channel. Watching MSP partners move from onboarding to confident, growing deployments is what drives me. Hitting our NRR targets this year wasn’t just a number, it was proof that when you invest in the partner relationship first, the results follow.”
The 2026 Women of the Channel will be featured online beginning May 4 at crn.com/wotc.
About DNSFilter
DNSFilter is a cybersecurity company that protects every click, leveraging AI-driven content filtering and threat protection to block threats 10 days earlier than competitors. DNSFilter’s solution secures workers anywhere they are, helping to boost productivity, minimize compliance risk, and protect corporate brands on public Wi-Fi networks. Unlike traditional filtering solutions, DNSFilter deploys in minutes instead of days and is trusted by more than 43,000 organizations worldwide. Learn more about how DNSFilter is the first and last line of defense for corporate and hybrid networks at dnsfilter.com.
About The Channel Company
The Channel Company (TCC) is the global leader in channel growth for the world’s top technology brands. We accelerate success across strategic channels for tech vendors, solution providers and end users with premier media brands, integrated marketing and event services, strategic consulting, and exclusive market and audience insights. TCC is a portfolio company of investment funds managed by EagleTree Capital, a New York City-based private equity firm. For more information, visit thechannelco.com.
In the embedded systems world, embedUR has spent the last twenty years in the trenches. We’ve built the wireless infrastructure that runs enterprise access points and the residential gateways sitting in millions of homes. In that time, we’ve learned one thing: regulatory shifts aren’t just legal problems. They are engineering problems.
The EU Cyber Resilience Act (CRA) is one of the biggest shifts we’ve seen in a decade. It isn’t just a footnote in a policy briefing; it’s a fundamental change in how we need to or should design, build, and most importantly, sustain products. At embedUR, we’ve guided teams through every Wi-Fi evolution from the early days of 802.11n to the complexities of Wi-Fi 6E and the new world of tinyML at the edge.
From where we stand, the CRA shouldn’t be a headache. It should be the catalyst that finally forces the industry to build smarter, more resilient systems.
But let’s be honest: for an engineering lead trying to hit a product launch date while staring down resource gaps, the CRA looks like a mountain of paperwork. To climb it, you have to bridge the gap between using an open-source RTOS like Zephyr and meeting the rigorous demands of European law.
We are currently in early 2026. The grace period is evaporating. The CRA was formally adopted back in late 2024, and the first major hammer will drop on September 11, 2026. That is the date when mandatory vulnerability reporting goes live.
If your device has a digital element and you sell it in the EU, you have 24 hours to report an exploited vulnerability. Not 24 hours after you fix it—24 hours after you find it.
By December 2027, the remaining requirements kick in: security-by-design as a legal mandate, machine-readable Software Bills of Materials (SBOMs), and a 5-year support window. If you miss these marks, the fines are eye-watering: up to €15 million or 2.5% of your global turnover. For any U.S. company exporting to Europe, which is a massive chunk of the global market, this is now the cost of doing business.
We’ve been working with Zephyr RTOS since its early releases in 2016. It’s under the Linux Foundation, it’s transparent, and it’s modular. On paper, it’s the perfect answer to the CRA.
Zephyr’s PSIRT (Product Security Incident Response Team) is excellent. They handle CVEs (Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures) with a level of transparency that mirrors the Linux kernel. When a bug is found in the networking stack, the fix is public and documented.
Furthermore, the Long-Term Support (LTS) releases, like the 3.7 LTS, offer five years of security maintenance. That perfectly maps to the CRA’s support requirements.
Zephyr also gives us the “West” tool. Using west spdx, we can generate an SBOM automatically during the build process. If you’ve ever tried to manually track every library and sub-component in a proprietary RTOS, you know that automated SBOM generation is a godsend. It takes the drudgery out of compliance.
However, this is the local engineer’s truth: upstream Zephyr is not the same thing as a shipping product.
Here is where the theory hits the floor. In our work sustaining Wi-Fi products for major global brands, where we manage fleets of over 10 million units, we’ve seen divergence as a major problem.
An engineer starts with a clean Zephyr LTS branch. Then, the silicon vendor provides a HAL (Hardware Abstraction Layer) that isn’t quite right for the specific power constraints of a Cortex-M4 gateway. So, the engineer tweaks the kernel. Then the marketing team requests a specific feature that requires a custom driver. Before you know it, you’ve forked the repo.
When a security patch comes down from the Zephyr upstream six months later, it doesn’t fit. It breaks your custom power management. It conflicts with your Wi-Fi driver. Now, compliance means a three-week rebase and a full regression test.
If you have a multi-SKU product line, maybe some devices use ARM and others use RISC-V, your vulnerability tracking turns into a nightmare. There are cases where a field-reported bug traced back to an unpatched erratum in a silicon vendor’s HAL. Because the team had drifted too far from the clean upstream code, they couldn’t pull the fix.
This kind of delay is exactly what the CRA will penalize.
The complexity doubles when you add tinyML. We’re seeing more industrial gear using TensorFlow Lite Micro on Zephyr to do predictive maintenance at the edge. These models are ultra-constrained. Every byte of RAM matters.
When you’re fighting for every kilobyte to make an AI model work on an IoT sensor, security overhead feels like an enemy. But under the CRA, that edge intelligence is part of the product’s digital footprint.
If your ML inference engine has a buffer overflow vulnerability, you are liable. Shoehorning these models into Zephyr while maintaining a secure, updatable bootloader (like MCUboot) requires a level of memory management that most teams aren’t prepared for.
So, how do we stop compliance from being a burden and turn it into a reason why customers choose you over a competitor? You have to treat security as a feature, not a chore.
The biggest mistake we see is that engineers treat Zephyr like a one-off download. You have to stay aligned with the LTS branches. We recommend a “cherry-pick” strategy. You pin your project to a stable LTS version and build a rigorous process for pulling in only the security patches you need. This keeps your custom “secret sauce” separate from the core RTOS plumbing.
If an auditor asks for your SBOM, you shouldn’t have to spend a week in Excel. We help our clients integrate SBOM tools directly into their CI/CD pipelines (like GitLab or GitHub Actions).
Every time a developer pushes code, the system should automatically run a vulnerability scan (using tools like grype or trivy) and generate a new SPDX file. If a vulnerability is found, the build should fail before the code ever reaches a device.
To handle the multi-SKU headache, we use Zephyr Device Tree overlays. Instead of having different codebases for different hardware, you keep one core application and use overlays to describe the hardware differences. This minimizes code drift and ensures that a security patch for your BLE stack works across every device in your catalog.
You can’t trust a simulation for CRA compliance. You need automated test rigs where real hardware is subjected to simulated exploits. At embedUR, we’ve built environments where we test everything from LTE stack vulnerabilities to timing glitches in crypto libraries.
This is how you catch a DoS (Denial of Service) bug before it gets found in the field and becomes a mandatory 24-hour report to the EU.
This is what we do. We aren’t a compliance consultancy that just hands you a PowerPoint. We are an engineering firm with over 400 expert embedded systems engineers who live in the kernel. Our architects have upstreamed code to Zephyr’s networking modules. We also know the silicon vendors—NXP, Infineon, Nordic, and Silicon Labs—and where their HALs usually break.
We have the sustainment framework ready to go. We handle the kernel upgrades, the CVE monitoring, and the SBOM maintenance so that your senior engineers can focus on the stuff that actually makes you money, like your next-gen predictive maintenance algorithms or your cloud-to-edge analytics.
The September 2026 deadline is closer than it looks on the calendar. In the world of embedded systems, eighteen months is one design cycle. If you start thinking about the CRA during the testing phase, you’ve already lost.
Is your Zephyr setup a solid foundation, or is it a house of cards? If you’re building for the EU market and worried about staying compliant without killing your product roadmap, let’s talk.
We can do a technical review of your current stack and show you exactly where the gaps are. We’ve been through the Wi-Fi wars and the IoT explosion; we can get you through this, too.
Let’s get your engineering team back to innovating. Schedule a Technical Review: Talk directly with our lead architects about your current Zephyr stack and CRA gaps.
AUSTIN, Texas, April 30, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Silicon Labs (NASDAQ: SLAB), the leading innovator in low-power wireless, today announced the promotion of Dr. Aslam Rafi to Senior Fellow. The Senior Fellow designation represents the highest level of technical achievement at Silicon Labs, recognizing individuals whose sustained innovation and leadership have materially shaped the company’s technology and long-term strategy.
“Aslam represents the highest standard of technical excellence at Silicon Labs,” said Daniel Cooley, Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer at Silicon Labs. “His work has fundamentally shaped our wireless leadership, and this promotion reflects both the scale of his impact and the critical role he continues to play in defining our future.”
Dr. Rafi has been with Silicon Labs for 26 years, driving foundational advancements in RF and analog technologies across a broad set of end markets, including cellular, broadcast, timing, and IoT wireless applications. His innovations deliver industry-leading performance and are embedded across virtually all Silicon Labs products.
Dr. Rafi has authored over 112 patents and has published in leading forums, including the IEEE Solid-State Circuits conference, the Journal of Solid-State Circuits and the Custom Integrated Circuits Conference. Dr. Rafi holds a Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin, a Master of Science from Carnegie Mellon University, and a Bachelor of Science from IIT Madras.
The Senior Fellow designation is reserved for individuals whose contributions are foundational and uniquely transformative, representing the company’s most distinguished technical leaders. It is awarded through a rigorous and highly selective process, with candidates evaluated on technical mastery, impact on engineering culture, commercial success, and overall industry influence.
About Silicon Labs
Silicon Labs (NASDAQ: SLAB) is the leading innovator in low-power connectivity, building embedded technology that connects devices and improves lives. Merging cutting-edge technology into the world’s most highly integrated SoCs, Silicon Labs provides device makers with the solutions, support, and ecosystems needed to create advanced edge connectivity applications. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, Silicon Labs has operations in over 16 countries and is the trusted partner for innovative solutions in smart home, industrial IoT, and smart cities markets. Learn more at https://www.silabs.com.
