LitePoint’s Eve Danel is the author of this blog. In this post, you’ll learn about updates to the Bluetooth, Ultra-Wideband and Wi-Fi specifications that improve location capabilities.
Recent standards updates to Bluetooth, Ultra-Wideband and Wi-Fi have introduced new and more accurate location capabilities that allow wireless device designers to use these technologies to support new indoor location applications. In this blog post we will review these methods and see how they compare to provide improved capabilities.
These location capabilities can be used to find people or objects with high accuracy where GPS and other satellite technologies – which are primarily for outdoor applications – lack precision or are blocked by buildings or other obstructions. While other indoor positioning systems can detect the location of an object, their accuracy can be on the order of several meters – which means that they cannot be used in many applications where more precision is required.
Both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi have already been used in many deployments for indoor location. Previous versions of these technologies had location capabilities that were based primarily on receive signal strength indicator (RSSI). This method can determine the distance between the transmitter and the receiving point by measuring the received signal strength, and then perform positioning calculations based on the corresponding signal attenuation. The accuracy of the RSSI method is limited by several factors, primarily if there are obstacles between the transmitter and the receiver causing attenuation, the accuracy of measurements will be reduced. The signal strength measurements can also be degraded if they are not calibrated, making the location calculation inaccurate by a few dBs.
The RSSI method is also inherently not very secure. It can be subjected to a “man-in-the-middle” (MITM) attack. This happens when attackers amplify the transmission to make the transmitter appear closer than it really is.
The next generation of positioning technology aims to unlock an even higher level of security as well as accuracy down to the tens of centimeters. Micro-location opens up a new generation of use cases allowing users to interact very precisely with their environment and the objects around them.
Bluetooth Low Energy 5.1
The recent addition of the Bluetooth 5.1 standard adds several direction-finding enhancements, providing angle information to the incoming signal. The standard specifies two methods: angle of arrival (AOA) and angle of departure (AOD).
For direction finding, the Bluetooth 5.1 devices transmit specially formatted packets and Bluetooth 5.1 receivers use an antenna array with at least 2 antennas to compute the angle of incidence based on the phase difference between the antennas, the signal’s wavelength and the distance between the antennas.
Combining RSSI information with either AOA or AOD provides the ability to determine the device location with better accuracy.
Ultra-Wideband (UWB)
Ultra-Wideband, or UWB, based on the IEEE 802.15.4z-2020 HRP ERDEV (Enhanced Ranging Devices) amendment provides high accuracy and secure positioning.
UWB doesn’t use signal strength to evaluate distance. Instead, it uses time of flight (ToF).
ToF measures the propagation time that it takes for the signal to go from the transmitter to the receiver. Signals travel at the speed of light, regardless of environment. Distance estimation based on timing is more robust and is not affected as much by the environment as the RSSI methods that were described earlier.
UWB is more robust to the man-in-the-middle attack described earlier because a signal cannot be intercepted and retransmitted without adding latency, in addition frames containing an STS (Scramble Timestamp Sequence) with AES-128 encryption provide an added layer of security.
Wi-Fi IEEE 802.11az
The IEEE 802.11az Next Generation Positioning (NGP) standard is nearing completion and it is building upon the fine timing measurement (FTM) feature that was part of the IEEE 802.11mc standard release. Unlike the RSSI method using signal strength to evaluate distance, FTM uses round trip time information to estimate distance between Wi-Fi enabled stations and access points.
The 802.11az standard is designed to improve upon the FTM legacy with NGP which uses several enhancements that are aligned with the 802.11ax/ Wi-Fi 6 standard. The Wi-Fi Alliance is also working on the next generation Wi-Fi location R2 program based on NGP.
Figure 3: Wi-Fi Timing Measurement Round Trip Time
FTM uses Time-of-Flight to measure distance. The mechanism is very similar to UWB’s ToF described earlier. Wi-Fi client stations and access points exchange a series of messages with Time of Departure and Time of Arrival timestamps that allow to derive round-trip time. Round trip time mechanism doesn’t require the clocks on the devices to be synchronized.
802.11az is designed to improve upon the legacy FTM by utilizing the latest features in the 802.11ax standard.
Testing Concerns
What’s true of all these wireless location technologies is that careful design validation testing is required to ensure the best performance. LitePoint’s wireless test product portfolio has the right solution to enable these technologies.
The IQgig-UWB™ tester is a fully integrated, one-box test solution for physical-layer testing of UWB-enabled devices. It supports all the required transmitter receiver testing, but it also has specific mechanism to test UWB ranging with a precision trigger and response mechanism that allows calibration and verification of ToF and AoA measurements.
To listen to my entire webinar on this topic, please go to the LitePoint webinar page.
GoZone WiFi, a U.S. marketing, analytics, and advertising platform, has released new Smart WiFi outcomes to help restaurants gather information, increase loyalty, and advertise to customers in a time when many businesses are still reeling from COVID.
Given the fact that 84% of restaurant-goers base their decision to patronize a restaurant upon the presence and quality of its WiFi, it’s never been more important to integrate Smart WiFi.
GoZone WiFi solutions provide restaurants with various tools needed to succeed at getting customers to patronize their businesses.
Each option provides different outcomes to bolster a specific part of a restaurant’s plan to offer a unique customer experience that keeps people coming back while increasing revenue pathways.
Marketing4Wifi simplifies the marketing experience, empowering restaurants to:
With this setup, everyone gets what they want. Customers get WiFi to use while they dine, and the business obtains valuable data that it can use to increase return visits, learn about customer demographics, and attract new patrons.
A hallmark of successful restaurants in the post-COVID world will be the opportunity to regain customer loyalty. The past year has been a trying time for all businesses, and restaurants continue to face difficulties. Fortunately, Smart WiFi can rise to the challenge to help restaurants overcome many of the most significant problems.
For starters, analyzing WiFi login data can help a business determine its busiest times and then use that data to aid with traffic flow and seating in a building. This can promote overcrowding and promote feelings of safety among patrons.
Smart WiFi is also a valuable tool for creating a customer loyalty program. The SMS numbers and emails gathered during WiFi logins can be directly integrated into a business’s CRM software, providing businesses with a direct link to customers’ information.
That data can be used to incentivize customers to return at opportune times by sending direct messages while also providing them with individualized offers that are most likely to get them into the restaurant. Birthdays, anniversaries, or other regular interactions can each be added to the CRM and utilized to promote sales.
Furthermore, a business gains the ability to directly request customer reviews which have greater potential to be positive, thereby increasing the likelihood that more people will come to the restaurant.
Utilizing GoZone’s WiFi for restaurants will promote safety and sales side by side while also generating a significant ROI, minimizing the relative cost of engaging GoZone WiFi’s Smart system.
GoZone’s Smart WiFi framework is already established; restaurants can start setting up their WiFi systems right now to gain customers, actionable data, and an edge in their market.
About GoZone WiFi
GoZone WiFi is a SaaS company providing guest engagement and advertising solutions to businesses large and small. GoZone’s Smart WiFi Suite helps companies innovate as they reach out to their customers and advertising partners. You can contact GoZone WiFi at (877) 554-WiFi or info@gozonewifi.com
Wi-Fi 6E: Efficiently maneuvers between Wireless Bands, provides Gigabit speeds and extremely low latency. Opening of the 6 GHz, essentially, quadruples the amount of airwaves (14 additional 80MHz channels, and 7 additional 160MHz channels) available for routers and smart devices which translates to greater capacity, improved performance & use for diverse next-generation technology applications. Download our Infographic to know more. This infographic is authored by Anand Kumar, GM, sales, HFCL Ltd.
Enea has won the IoT Innovation Award at this year’s World Communication Awards for its Aptilo IoT Connectivity Control Service™ (Aptilo IoT CCS). The World Communication Awards forum has recognized innovation and excellence in the telecom industry for 23 years, and is one of the most prominent marks of achievement.
“The key in this category was to bring real innovation in the market, and this is what Enea does”, said Matt Hatton of Transforma Insights, who presented the jury’s motivation. One jury member liked the fact that Aptilo IoT CCS addresses a real problem for mobile operators, enabling them to profitably launch IoT services while meeting the needs of enterprise customers, and another member said it had hyperscale potential.
Enea’s Aptilo IoT CCS is a unique innovation delivered as a service on Amazon Web Services. The Aptilo Service Management Platform™ is handling the control plane, while Fortinet’s next-generation firewalls are handling the data plane. The service enables mobile operators to target the mass-market of customers prepared to pay for value-added services, but not for tailor-made development.
“We are proud to win this prestigious IoT innovation award,” said Jonas Björklund, Senior Vice President of the Aptilo Business Unit at Enea. “Innovation is all about teamwork and we want to share the award with Telia, the first Aptilo IoT CCS customer, and our partners Fortinet and Amazon Web Services – it is a great joint achievement.”
With Aptilo IoT CCS in place, mobile operators can leave mobile core and IoT platforms untouched and add a flexible hyperscale layer of programmable IoT connectivity control, automating the IoT service delivery. Operator’s enterprise IoT customers can manage security and policy settings through self-management portals, and VPNs can be created in a matter of minutes rather than weeks. If the operators use localization of eSIMs, customers will still get a unified IoT service across all international partner networks with the same IP-address, security, and policies.
References
• Aptilo IoT Connectivity Control Service™ (IoT CCS)
https://www.aptilo.com/cloud/cellular-iot-connectivity-management-and-policy-control/
The names, brands, and logotypes of third-party products and services mentioned or shown in this press release are the property of their respective owners and may also be trademarks. They are used for identification purposes only and do not imply endorsement.
About Enea
Enea is one of the world’s leading specialists in software for telecommunications and cybersecurity. The company’s cloud-native products are used to enable and protect services for mobile subscribers, enterprise customers, and the Internet of Things. More than 3 billion people rely on Enea technologies in their daily lives.
Enea is headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, and is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm.
For more information: www.enea.com
Secure, interoperable Wi-Fi expands connectivity for more IoT applications
Austin, TX – November 2, 2021 – Wi-Fi Alliance® introduces Wi-Fi CERTIFIED HaLow™ – the certification program for products incorporating IEEE 802.11ah technology – to expand Wi-Fi® applications for the Internet of Things (IoT). Wi-Fi HaLow™ operates in the sub-1 GHz band, enabling long range and low power connectivity, while providing a robust connection in challenging Wi-Fi environments. Wi-Fi HaLow will enable a variety of new, power-efficient use cases for IoT and Industrial IoT (IIoT) environments, as well as retail, agriculture, healthcare, smart home, and smart city markets.
Wi-Fi HaLow enables low power connectivity necessary for applications including sensors, personal wearable devices, and utility meters that require multi-year battery operation. Wi-Fi HaLow supports applications such as streaming compressed video from security cameras, even in challenging environments where the ability to penetrate walls or other barriers to provide a robust connection is an important consideration. In agriculture or logistics monitoring applications where long range is a priority, Wi-Fi HaLow delivers data at ranges exceeding one kilometer. Wi-Fi HaLow adopts existing Wi-Fi protocols to deliver many of the benefits that consumers have come to expect from Wi-Fi, including multi-vendor interoperability, strong WPA3™ security, easy setup, and seamless integration into IP networks.
“Wi-Fi CERTIFIED HaLow further extends Wi-Fi’s leading role in IoT to address a new range of secure and interoperable use cases that require longer range and lower power. Wi-Fi HaLow is a compelling addition to the Wi-Fi portfolio, making the full range of Wi-Fi capabilities an unmatched connectivity offering,” said Edgar Figueroa, president and CEO, Wi-Fi Alliance. “There are growing opportunities to streamline connectivity in the growing IoT market, and Wi-Fi HaLow builds on a universally trusted Wi-Fi foundation to pave the way for emerging IoT applications to benefit homes, businesses, and industries.”
Wi-Fi’s expanding IoT portfolio
IoT connected devices in use worldwide are projected to exceed 30 billion units by 2025, more than doubling from 13.8 billion in 2021.1 The smart home IoT use case is a rapidly growing market, and more than 29 percent of businesses also use IoT technology to streamline processes and increase efficiency.2 Wi-Fi Alliance has a strong portfolio of technologies delivering low power, high performance, and secure Wi-Fi for a wide variety of IoT environments. Wi-Fi CERTIFIED 6™ is a strong complement to Wi-Fi HaLow for commercial, industrial, and residential IoT applications requiring fast data rates and low latency, such as AR/VR, home security systems with high-resolution video feeds, medical telemetry monitoring, and remote surgery. Wi-Fi CERTIFIED Easy Connect™ reduces the complexity of connecting devices to Wi-Fi networks, including the many IoT devices with little to no user interface, while simultaneously incorporating the highest security standards. All Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ devices support WPA3, providing cutting edge security protocols to protect sensitive data and provide strong protections to users.
“Wi-Fi HaLow devices such as security cameras and tablets are being used in industrial environments today, and we expect devices to soon make their way to smart home environments allowing consumers to take advantage of its longer range and lower power for applications such as battery powered cameras, video baby monitors, and other smart home products,” said Phil Solis, research director at IDC. “Companies have been working on Wi-Fi HaLow chipsets for years and we expect shipments to break 10 million in 2022, with adoption expanding from industrial to include smart home, smart city, and retail markets.”
Member companies providing interoperability test bed devices that are among the first Wi-Fi CERTIFIED HaLow products include Methods2Business, Morse Micro, and Newracom.
Industry support for Wi-Fi CERTIFIED HaLow:
“Wi-Fi CERTIFIED HaLow is the best choice for sensor communication and video feeds in RF challenged environments, such as manufacturing floors, construction sites, and commercial buildings. Operating in the ISM sub-GHz band, Wi-Fi HaLow brings exciting new features and Wi-Fi Alliance certification is of key importance to the IoT marketplace. Wi-Fi HaLow delivers longer range (more than 1 kilometer), higher throughput, large scale station deployments due to grouping and scheduling, lower latency, and long battery lifetime. Additionally, as part of the Wi-Fi family, Wi-Fi HaLow capitalizes on existing Wi-Fi infrastructure and robust end-to-end security, with multicast, and broadcast capabilities that allows for field software upgradability.” – Michael “Mac” McNamara, CEO, Adapt-IP
“Methods2Business is proud to play an active role in the availability of Wi-Fi CERTIFIED HaLow. Our company is excited to be one of the Wi-Fi HaLow certification test bed providers. Wi-Fi Alliance is delivering great value to the industry, enabling us to develop one of the first certified, interoperable, Wi-Fi HaLow products. Our customers believe that Wi-Fi HaLow will play a substantial role in the revolution of Industrial IoT and IoT for the Smart Home. It will serve these rapidly emerging markets with its unique advantages of a longer range (more than a kilometer) Wi-Fi with ultra-low power consumption and high security standards.” – Marleen Boonen, CEO & Founder, Methods2Business
“The ground-breaking potential of extending the already transformative characteristics of Wi-Fi into the sub-1 GHz band is hard to overstate, and we applaud Wi-Fi Alliance’s leadership in unleashing a new era of long range, low power and high-capacity Wi-Fi HaLow experiences for consumers. As a leading Wi-Fi HaLow innovator, we have invested heavily in R&D to ensure the market is ready with SoCs and modules that deliver unmatched benefits unlike any Wi-Fi or LPWAN technology available today. The addition of sub-1 GHz Wi-Fi CERTIFIED HaLow to the Wi-Fi CERTIFIED portfolio will be a game changer for consumers and enterprises, from smart home, building automation, smart city, and industrial markets – and everything in between.”
– Michael De Nil, co-founder and CEO, Morse Micro
“We are incredibly excited to witness Wi-Fi Alliance’s announcement of the Wi-Fi CERTIFIED HaLow program. Today marks a significant milestone for Newracom, Wi-Fi Alliance, and the industry as a whole. With long range, lower power consumption and massive deployment capabilities, Wi-Fi HaLow extends the inherent goodness of Wi-Fi to accelerate the next generation Internet of Things applications.” – Zac Freeman, Vice President, Newracom
“Palma Ceia SemiDesign salutes Wi-Fi Alliance on the launch of the Wi-Fi CERTIFIED HaLow program. This launch represents years of work by members of Wi-Fi Alliance to achieve a truly testable and compliant standard. Wi-Fi HaLow will provide users with a unique combination of range, throughput, network density, and power efficiency with WPA3 security. Palma Ceia will deliver Wi-Fi HaLow solutions and network support services to consumer and industrial clients. We look forward to the positive impact Wi-Fi HaLow and the collection of Wi-Fi CERTIFIED HaLow products will have on the IoT market and the expanded user applications that will benefit from Wi-Fi HaLow’s outcome-based network deployments.” – Kevin Walsh, Vice President of Strategic Marketing, Palma Ceia SemiDesign
For more information, please visit our website and download our technology overview, program paper, and highlights sheet.
About Wi-Fi Alliance® | www.wi-fi.org
Wi-Fi Alliance® is the worldwide network of companies that brings you Wi-Fi®. Members of our collaboration forum come together from across the Wi-Fi ecosystem with the shared vision to connect everyone and everything, everywhere, while providing the best possible user experience. Since 2000, Wi-Fi Alliance has completed more than 65,000 Wi-Fi certifications. The Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ seal of approval designates products with proven interoperability, backward compatibility, and the highest industry-standard security protections in place. Today, Wi-Fi carries more than half of the internet’s traffic in an ever-expanding variety of applications. Wi-Fi Alliance continues to drive the adoption and evolution of Wi-Fi, which billions of people rely on every day.
Wi-Fi QoS Management™ helps provide consistent service quality across Wi-Fi and 5G
Austin, TX – October 21, 2021 – Wi-Fi CERTIFIED QoS Management™ is a certification program from Wi-Fi Alliance® that allows more granular Quality of Service (QoS) management in home, public, and enterprise environments to further improve the user experience with latency-sensitive, real-time applications, and to help ensure consistent QoS treatment across Wi-Fi® and 5G networks. Standardized mechanisms in Wi-Fi QoS Management™ allow for differentiated traffic prioritization between Wi-Fi and cellular networks to deliver an enhanced user experience with applications requiring low latency and low jitter. Wi-Fi QoS Management enhances voice-over-IP, videoconferencing, interactive gaming, X Reality (XR), Internet of Things (IoT) and healthcare monitoring.
“Wi-Fi has a powerful role today in delivering essential use cases in home and enterprise environments,” said Kevin Robinson, SVP of Marketing, Wi-Fi Alliance. “There is unprecedented growth of real-time, bidirectional communication applications over Wi-Fi, and Wi-Fi QoS Management delivers deterministic connectivity that allows enterprises, service providers, and users to enjoy latency-sensitive applications even in dense or challenging environments. Additionally, as more 5G networks are deployed, Wi-Fi QoS Management will help ensure consistent traffic management across Wi-Fi and cellular networks.”
Wi-Fi QoS Management includes four core features including:
Hybrid workforces are becoming increasingly more common and have given renewed importance to collaboration technologies which rely on high quality Wi-Fi to deliver the best user experience with tools including video conferencing or voice-over-IP. Additionally, XR technologies are poised to bridge gaps between real and virtual worlds by improving education, onboarding, healthcare, and other advanced use cases with richer experiences. Consistent QoS treatment policies are necessary to meet the demands of these advanced use cases – most of which require data traffic to traverse multiple networks – including Wi-Fi, wired, and cellular. Wi-Fi QoS Management provides mechanisms that allow client applications to request QoS treatment, and for network managers to implement QoS policies. These mechanisms allow user devices and access points to perform differentiated prioritization, depending on the type of traffic. The result is robust service delivery and higher quality Wi-Fi, including better experiences with real-time and immersive applications, and reduced latency and jitter when online gaming or accessing interactive cloud and edge services.
For more information, please visit our website and download our technology overview and/or highlights sheet.
About Wi-Fi Alliance® | www.wi-fi.org
Wi-Fi Alliance® is the worldwide network of companies that brings you Wi-Fi®. Members of our collaboration forum come together from across the Wi-Fi ecosystem with the shared vision to connect everyone and everything, everywhere, while providing the best possible user experience. Since 2000, Wi-Fi Alliance has completed more than 65,000 Wi-Fi certifications. The Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ seal of approval designates products with proven interoperability, backward compatibility, and the highest industry-standard security protections in place. Today, Wi-Fi carries more than half of the internet’s traffic in an ever-expanding variety of applications. Wi-Fi Alliance continues to drive the adoption and evolution of Wi-Fi, which billions of people rely on every day.
Learn how to validate 802.11 WLAN AP and device performance, ensure network security, maximize service coverage.
Austin, Texas and Washington, D.C. – October 19, 2021 – Wi-Fi Alliance® continues to advance development of the Automated Frequency Coordination (AFC) system that maximizes spectrum access in the 6 GHz frequency band. Wi-Fi Alliance is announcing the release of an additional element necessary for AFC system implementation: the AFC System Compliance Test Plan. Wi-Fi Alliance development efforts on this innovative AFC system aim to ensure worldwide adoption, interoperability, security, and reliability expected of Wi-Fi®.
Wi-Fi 6E leverages the 6 GHz band to unleash capacity, speed, and reduced latency benefits. The AFC system, already adopted into 6 GHz regulatory framework in Canada and U.S., is also being considered by regulators in other countries. Development of this AFC system framework demonstrates the commitment by Wi-Fi Alliance to maximizing 6 GHz spectrum opportunity and accelerating delivery of Wi-Fi 6E benefits.
AFC documents now available from Wi-Fi Alliance include:
For more information on countries enabling Wi-Fi 6E, please visit: https://www.wi-fi.org/countries-enabling-wi-fi-6e. To download the full package of Wi-Fi Alliance AFC documents, please visit: https://www.wi-fi.org/file/afc-specification-and-test-plans.
About Wi-Fi Alliance® | www.wi-fi.org
Wi-Fi Alliance® is the worldwide network of companies that brings you Wi-Fi®. Members of our collaboration forum come together from across the Wi-Fi ecosystem with the shared vision to connect everyone and everything, everywhere, while providing the best possible user experience. Since 2000, Wi-Fi Alliance has completed more than 65,000 Wi-Fi certifications. The Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ seal of approval designates products with proven interoperability, backward compatibility, and the highest industry-standard security protections in place. Today, Wi-Fi carries more than half of the internet’s traffic in an ever-expanding variety of applications. Wi-Fi Alliance continues to drive the adoption and evolution of Wi-Fi, which billions of people rely on every day.
Revenue EDGE Wi-Fi On the Go will deliver seamless Wi-Fi access, single sign-on, and secure roaming throughout neighborhoods and public spaces, enabling BSPs to differentiate their brand, grow their contribution to their community and create new revenue streams.
SAN JOSE, CA – October 18, 2021 – Building on a decade of investment in the Intelligent Access EDGE and Revenue EDGE platforms to deliver an unrivalled pace of broadband service provider innovation, Calix, Inc. (NYSE: CALX) announced Revenue EDGE Wi-Fi On the Go (Wi-Fi On the Go) at its ConneXions conference in Las Vegas. Wi-Fi On the Go will enable broadband service providers (BSPs) to grow their value to their communities and drive revenue by meeting subscriber demand for solutions that extend beyond the home. Through the CommandIQ® mobile app, subscribers will be able to use the new MyCommunityIQ Revenue EDGE Suite to access secure Wi-Fi roaming—with single sign-on—throughout entire neighborhoods. The new Wi-Fi On the Go capabilities will play a key role in building a broader ecosystem by connecting subscribers across neighborhoods, towns, and cities.
Once again, Calix is embracing industry standards to deliver Wi-Fi On the Go. The Wi-Fi Alliance Wi-Fi CERTIFIED Passpoint® protocol will be a core element of the solution that BSPs will leverage to deliver multiple benefits for subscribers, first responders, and public institutions including:
“We are very excited about Wi-Fi On the Go and are looking forward to the positive impact it will have on our communities,” said Brad Moline, president and chief executive officer of ALLO Communications. “The new Revenue EDGE offering builds on our existing investment in Calix platforms and will play a vital role in optimizing the learning experience, eliminating the digital divide, and supporting public safety service by delivering connectivity over an available network that is fast, reliable and secure. And, best of all, the Revenue EDGE will help to power ALLO’s Gigabit society.”
This latest Revenue EDGE announcement demonstrates the Calix commitment to extend innovation to new use cases that will allow BSPs to continually grow their value.
“With the new Revenue EDGE Wi-Fi On the Go solution, broadband service providers can be sure their subscribers only need to sign in once to access the same ultimate Wi-Fi experience they enjoy at home. It represents an exciting first step that could open up longer term opportunities for an alliance of Calix Customers to extend the ultimate subscriber experiences among communities,” said Shane Eleniak, executive vice president of products for Calix. “Built around Wi-Fi Alliance Wi-Fi CERTIFIED Passpoint technology, MyCommunityIQ delivers seamless network access and roaming between GigaSpire BLAST hotspots. It underscores our active and continued commitment to building first-class solutions with industry standards and protocols such as Wi-Fi Alliance Wi-Fi CERTIFIED Data Elements™ and Wi-Fi Alliance Wi-Fi CERTIFIED Passpoint to enable BSPs to simplify their business, excite subscribers, and grow value.”
Register for the ConneXions 2021 Learning Experience, which takes place virtually November 16-18 at Calix.com to learn more about Revenue EDGE Wi-Fi On the Go for BSPs.
About Calix
Calix, Inc. (NYSE: CALX) – Calix cloud and software platforms enable service providers of all types and sizes to innovate and transform. Our customers utilize the real-time data and insights from Calix platforms to simplify their businesses and deliver experiences that excite their subscribers. The resulting growth in subscriber acquisition, loyalty, and revenue creates more value for their businesses and communities. This is the Calix mission; to enable broadband service providers of all sizes to simplify, excite, and grow.
This press release may contain forward-looking statements that are based upon management’s current expectations and are inherently uncertain. Forward-looking statements are based upon information available to us as of the date of this release, and we assume no obligation to revise or update any such forward-looking statement to reflect any event or circumstance after the date of this release, except as required by law. Actual results and the timing of events could differ materially from current expectations based on risks and uncertainties affecting Calix’s business. The reader is cautioned not to rely on the forward-looking statements contained in this press release. Additional information on potential factors that could affect Calix’s results and other risks and uncertainties are detailed in its quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC and available at www.sec.gov.
Revolutionary new Revenue EDGE systems will enable broadband service providers to excite their subscribers with a simple upgrade to any GigaSpire Wi-Fi experience, delivering unmatched performance and breakthrough flexibility to address the most demanding use cases and extreme environments for both residential and small business subscribers
SAN JOSE, CA – October 18, 2021 – Building on a decade of investment in the Intelligent Access EDGE and Revenue EDGE platforms to deliver an unrivalled pace of broadband innovation, (NYSE: CALX) announced new carrier-class Wi-Fi 6E systems, including a hardened system that can withstand even severe outdoor conditions. These new systems mark a major milestone for Calix, its Revenue EDGE platform, and its customers. By incorporating cutting-edge Wi-Fi 6E technology into the GigaSpire® family, Calix is enabling broadband service providers (BSPs) to take full advantage of the newly available 6 GHz band. That means higher throughput and lower latency, less interference, and better performance in dense environments. It also offers increased network efficiency and robust support for the next generation of bandwidth-intensive consumer and business applications. Powered by the Calix Experience Innovation Platform, these new Wi-Fi 6E systems can be leveraged for new deployments or seamlessly added to existing GigaSpire deployments to instantly upgrade that experience to address an ever-expanding set of subscriber use cases—including outdoor use. These new systems will extend the value of the Revenue EDGE platform so BSPs can simplify operations, excite subscribers, and grow the value of their business.
The new GigaSpire BLAST Wi-Fi 6E systems are a foundational component of the Revenue EDGE solution, which includes Calix Support Cloud, Calix Marketing Cloud, the CommandIQ® mobile app, and Revenue EDGE Suites. They enable BSPs to deliver the interactive bandwidth-intensive applications and services subscribers want. Every system in the GigaSpire BLAST portfolio delivers carrier-class reliability and performance that ensures BSPs can provide their subscribers with an exceptional managed experience. These systems will be included in the expanded portfolio.
GigaSpire BLAST u6e premises systems are tri-band (2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz) premises systems that are designed to maximize the power of the newly available 6GHz band. The GigaSpire BLAST u6e can also operate as a mesh satellite. To ensure optimal placement and coverage, they can be wall mounted, ceiling mounted, and powered either traditionally or with an Ethernet cable. These systems offer BSPs the broadest set of options for residential and small business use cases that require ultimate performance and deployment flexibility.
“We’re excited to partner with Calix to take the next big step in delivering amazing Wi-Fi experiences to our residential and small business subscribers. The GigaSpire BLAST systems are enabling us to deploy and deliver the new services that our customers are adopting every day,” said Troy Mack, network operations manager at West Carolina Tel. “Wi-Fi 6E will unlock tremendous possibilities. The fact that we can simply add these new systems to our existing Revenue EDGE portfolio and existing deployments without missing a beat will ensure that we keep ahead of the competition. The fact that we can also offer our subscribers a Wi-Fi system that can withstand outdoor conditions is a huge step forward. This will allow us to deliver high-bandwidth services to every area of our customers’ properties, enabling Wi-Fi to the barn, backyard patio, and small businesses that require more powerful systems.”
The Experience Innovation Platform, which powers all GigaSpire BLAST systems, enables BSPs to adopt and deploy new systems and services with unprecedented speed and efficiency. GigaSpire BLAST systems can be incorporated into a BSP’s operating model in mere days rather than weeks or months. With the accelerating investment in broadband, driven by U.S. federal and state-level funding as well as private investment, the GigaSpire BLAST family enables critical speed-to-market and flexibility.
“The GigaSpire BLAST portfolio offers the broadest range of systems in the market to enable broadband service providers to succeed,” said Shane Eleniak, executive vice president of products for Calix. “We invest in innovation that helps them grow their brand and build deep, lasting relationships with subscribers. We were the first technology provider in the market with Wi-Fi 6 systems designed exclusively for service providers, and with the announcement of our Wi-Fi 6E and hardened capabilities, we will give our customers the agility and flexibility needed to outpace any market competitor—even the consumer giants. These GigaSpire BLAST systems will enable BSPs of any type and size to be first in their market and easily meet the needs of today’s subscribers.”
To learn more, download the white paper, “Expanding Wi-Fi into the 6 GHz Spectrum,” and register for the ConneXions 2021 Learning Experience, which takes place virtually November 16-18 at Calix.com.
About Calix
Calix, Inc. (NYSE: CALX) – Calix cloud and software platforms enable service providers of all types and sizes to innovate and transform. Our customers utilize the real-time data and insights from Calix platforms to simplify their businesses and deliver experiences that excite their subscribers. The resulting growth in subscriber acquisition, loyalty, and revenue creates more value for their businesses and communities. This is the Calix mission; to enable broadband service providers of all sizes to simplify, excite, and grow.
This press release may contain forward-looking statements that are based upon management’s current expectations and are inherently uncertain. Forward-looking statements are based upon information available to us as of the date of this release, and we assume no obligation to revise or update any such forward-looking statement to reflect any event or circumstance after the date of this release, except as required by law. Actual results and the timing of events could differ materially from current expectations based on risks and uncertainties affecting Calix’s business. The reader is cautioned not to rely on the forward-looking statements contained in this press release. Additional information on potential factors that could affect Calix’s results and other risks and uncertainties are detailed in its quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC and available at www.sec.gov.
