Communications cooperative builds on its phenomenal managed Wi-Fi capability and leverages full Calix Revenue EDGE solution to excite members and elevate their brand with differentiated services
SAN JOSE, CA – February 24, 2021 – Calix, Inc. (NYSE: CALX) today announced Utah-based telco cooperative, STRATA Networks (STRATA), has leveraged the entire Calix Revenue EDGE solution and developed a comprehensive set of best practices for differentiating the STRATA branded Wi-Fi 6 experience for their members.
After introducing the BLAST Systems to members in 2020, STRATA pivoted quickly to enhancing and customizing the STRATA-branded Wi-Fi 6 experience with EDGE Suites, leveraging the real-time behavioral insights from Calix Marketing Cloud (CMC) to target members who would benefit from these new experiences. As a result of their targeted marketing campaign, STRATA has seen a 60 percent increase in the adoption of STRATA Hub (their branded CommandIQ® app), and a 59 percent increase in downloads of the EDGE Suites; ProtectIQ™, for enhanced virus and malware protection of the member’s Wi-fi network, and ExperienceIQ™, for parental controls.
The Calix CommandIQ mobile app provides a direct communication channel between communications service providers (CSPs) and subscribers, which is key to integrating perpetual upsell and revenue-generating opportunities. With this 60 percent increase in adoption of CommandIQ, STRATA is taking full advantage of advanced subscriber insights and mobile- notification capabilities through CMC. In addition, the marketing team can leverage easy-to-customize resources from the EDGE Enablement program to quickly launch campaigns with the Calix Customer Success team supporting them at every step. STRATA’s most recent campaign to drive new application downloads converted an impressive 20 percent of mobile notifications into EDGE Suites adoption—more than 10x the industry average.
In the future, all CSPs can look forward to expanding their portfolio of services to include Arlo Technologies and Servify, which are pre-integrated EDGE Suites enabling operations, support and marketing teams to quickly deliver new value-added services that excite their members while retaining a direct communication channel via STRATA’s branded CommandIQ app.
“We developed the ultimate Wi-Fi experience to differentiate from simple managed Wi-Fi offerings, and Calix has enabled us to build on that foundation and push that experience forward,” said Bruce Todd, CEO for STRATA Networks. “Fast, reliable connectivity into and throughout the home was just the start, but to grow our business, we need to continue to differentiate our offering by making the in-home broadband experience unbeatable. With the simplicity of the mobile app and value-adds of full network security and management offerings, Calix delivers everything we need to continue to excite our members and grow our business.”
STRATA Networks is a community-focused communications cooperative based in Northeastern Utah with services that span parts of three western states. It was founded more than half a century ago and has evolved from being a local telephone network to a leading provider of differentiated broadband experiences.
“The STRATA Networks team has developed an unmatched model that any service provider marketer should follow as they are focused on leveraging the data,” said Matt Collins, chief marketing officer for Calix. “STRATA leveraged data to ensure the success of their CommandIQ launch through an app download contest while using the CMC enabled in-app mobile notifications, and the customizable brand content from our EDGE Enablement program for the campaign. The results speak for themselves, as EDGE Suites subscriptions have delivered new revenue streams for STRATA through new experiences. We are delighted to see these marketing success stories and will continue to provide best-in-breed marketing solutions to grow our partnership as STRATA Networks grows its value to members and the communities they serve.”
Learn more about the Calix Revenue EDGE and the full network security and access controls of EDGE Suites.
About Calix
Calix, Inc. (NYSE: CALX) – Innovative communications service providers rely on Calix platforms to help them master and monetize the complex infrastructure between their subscribers and the cloud. Calix is the leading global provider of the cloud and software platforms, systems, and services required to deliver the unified access network and smart premises of tomorrow. Our platforms and services help our customers build next generation networks by embracing a DevOps operating model, optimize the subscriber experience by leveraging big data analytics and turn the complexity of the smart, connected home and business into new revenue streams.
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.
The growing popularity of Wi-Fi mesh networks lies with their core benefit – fast, reliable Wi-Fi in every corner of the house. However, as connectivity and wireless technology continue to evolve, the number of available options from different vendors hit the market at an ever-increasing rate.
Wi-Fi companies such as Eero, Netgear, Google or Mercku often implement a proprietary mesh networking protocol that only allows their mesh systems to mesh with each other. The networking principles and features between the different mesh systems from these providers are mostly the same but, all of them operate independently. For example, it’s not possible to mesh one Mercku M2 Queen router with two Eero nodes to create one network. With so many options, there was a lack of a reliable industry standard for mesh networks that operators and consumers could reference when selecting their next best Wi-Fi mesh solution.
Historically, the Wi-Fi Alliance leads new initiatives around Wi-Fi standards, and in 2018, they introduced EasyMesh certification to make a mesh industry standard a reality. Wi-Fi CERTIFIED EasyMesh™ is a Wi-Fi Alliance® certification program that brings a standards-based approach to multiple AP home Wi-Fi networks. EasyMesh establishes controller routers to manage and coordinate activity among the mesh nodes and ensures that each AP does not interfere with the other, bringing both expanded, uniform coverage and more efficient service.
Source: Wi-Fi Alliance
One key benefit of this standard is allowing consumers to combine EasyMesh certified Wi-Fi access points from multiple vendors to create unified mesh networks – regardless of the product line or brand. This feature gives consumers and operators more freedom in deploying their Wi-Fi 5 or Wi-Fi 6 Mesh systems in the future.
Wi-Fi routers that are Wi-Fi EasyMesh certified will provide a list of useful features to improve the overall user experience. Some of the most important are:
As with every new technological standard, there are some limitations to consider as well. For instance, a standardized protocol could mean the loss of unique network features from individual equipment manufacturers. Moreover, it can be hard to pinpoint the cause of bottlenecking or other performance issues on the network with a variety of different APs.
As Wi-Fi Alliance is continuing to develop the standard, EasyMesh R2 brings about even more enhancements to Mesh networking, with standardized Wi-Fi diagnostics, improved channel management, traffic separation mode and enhanced client steering, which we will cover in the future blogs (subscribe to our newsletter to make sure you don’t miss it!).
Last year, we released the Mercku M6 Wi-Fi 6 Mesh system, which supports EasyMesh R2 standard out of the box. We can’t wait for our users to start deploying the M6 in their custom Mesh networks – alongside other best EasyMesh certified routers in 2021!
Feb 23, 2021, 08:30 ET
—New financing from Insight Partners will fuel Plume’s accelerating growth—
PALO ALTO, Calif., Feb. 23, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Plume®, the company behind the smart home service offerings of more than 170 Communications Service Providers (CSPs) served to more than 22 million households across the globe, today announced that it has closed a $270 million minority investment from global venture capital and private equity firm Insight Partners. This Series E round at a $1.35 billion valuation brings Plume’s total equity funding to $397 million.
Plume was founded on the premise that a device will only ever be as smart as the network it’s connected to, and that the existing smart home services were sorely lacking. Instead of attempting to improve only wireless coverage through distributed hardware, Plume’s approach is entirely different – a comprehensive suite of cloud-controlled front-end services delivered over a smart, software-defined network. Plume’s HomePass™ front-end services suite consists of adaptive and self-optimizing whole-home WiFi, AI driven cybersecurity and IoT device protection, sophisticated parental supervision, secure access controls, and motion awareness. HomePass is complemented by a powerful, data-driven back-end operations platform offering real-time and predictive customer support tools, network control center applications, deep analytics, comprehensive dashboards, consumer behavior and satisfaction insights, churn prediction, and retention marketing services for CSPs through Plume’s Haystack™ and Harvest™ suites.
Plume will use the funding to further increase investment in research & development and lean more aggressively into sales, marketing, and partnerships. The company will seek to continue its rapid product, revenue, customer, channel, and geographic expansion and plans to add employees in all of its offices across North America, Europe, and Asia.
“Growth in the smart home category is exploding, but the quality of consumer experience has fallen short,” said Insight Partners Managing Director Ryan Hinkle, who has been appointed as a director on Plume’s board. “We are convinced that Plume, with its scalable cloud data platform approach, highly efficient go-to-market strategy, strong momentum, top-quartile financial performance across all SaaS KPIs – including revenue, growth rates, gross margin, efficiency and retention metrics – and world class team is transforming this category. We’re delighted to join and support this exciting journey.”
Customers benefit from Plume’s constantly expanding platform through OpenSync™, the most widely supported open-source, silicon-to-cloud framework for smart spaces. With OpenSync, CSPs can decouple their service offerings from hardware and rapidly curate and deliver new services over a multi-vendor, open-platform architecture. Managed by a massively scalable cloud control plane, new services can often be delivered without requiring new equipment, reducing CAPEX spend and extending the useful life of existing infrastructure. Since its creation in 2018, OpenSync has grown to power more than 26 million access points and switches across a broad range of silicon SDK and CPE platforms, and has attracted many third-party developers and contributors.
“We could not be more enthusiastic about welcoming Ryan to our board, and our partnership with the entire Insight team,” said Fahri Diner, Co-founder and CEO of Plume. “By leveraging machine learning and AI, cloud data, open-source, deep ecosystem partnerships, and a scalable platform, we uniquely address the disconnect between the expectations of smart spaces and the service provider’s ability to deliver flawless experiences to them – while building a leading, high-growth SaaS business in a large, under-served market. An even stronger balance sheet through this cash infusion, coupled with our high operating leverage, sets the stage for Plume to continue to invest confidently in our future.”
Jefferies acted as financial advisor to Plume on the transaction.
About Plume
Plume® is the creator of the world’s first SaaS experience platform for Communications Service Providers (CSPs) and their subscribers deployed globally. As the only open and hardware-independent solution, Plume enables the rapid delivery of new services for connected homes (and beyond) at massive scale. For consumers, Plume delivers self-optimizing WiFi, cyber-security, access controls, parental controls, motion sensing, and more. CSPs get robust back-end applications for unprecedented visibility and both reactive and pre-emptive support. Plume leverages OpenSync™, an open-source framework which comes pre-integrated and supported on the leading silicon, CPE and platform SDKs.
Plume’s investors include Charter Communications, Comcast Cable, Foxconn, Insight Partners, Jackson Square Ventures, Liberty Global Ventures, Presidio Ventures, Qualcomm, Samsung, Service Electric Cablevision, Shaw Ventures, Silicon Valley Bank, and UpBeat Venture Partners.
Visit www.plume.com, www.plume.com/homepass and www.opensync.io.
Follow Plume on LinkedIn and Twitter.
Plume, HomePass, Haystack, Harvest and OpenSync are trademarks or registered trademarks of Plume Design, Inc.
About Insight Partners
Insight Partners is a leading global venture capital and private equity firm investing in high-growth technology and software ScaleUp companies that are driving transformative change in their industries. Founded in 1995, Insight Partners has invested in more than 400 companies worldwide and has raised through a series of funds more than $30 billion in capital commitments. Insight’s mission is to find, fund, and work successfully with visionary executives, providing them with practical, hands-on software expertise to foster long-term success. Across its people and its portfolio, Insight encourages a culture around a belief that ScaleUp companies and growth create opportunity for all. For more information on Insight and all its investments, visit insightpartners.com or follow us on Twitter @insightpartners.
SOURCE Plume Design, Inc.
Wi-Fi QoS Management™ brings robust service delivery and high quality Wi-Fi experiences
Austin, Texas – February 23, 2021 – Wi-Fi Alliance® introduces Wi-Fi CERTIFIED QoS Management™, a new certification program delivering a standardized approach to traffic prioritization that improves the Wi-Fi® experience with real-time applications. Wi-Fi QoS Management™ builds on widely adopted Wi-Fi CERTIFIED WMM™ to deliver a consistent, end-to-end approach to Quality of Service (QoS) treatment in Wi-Fi networks. The program introduces two new technologies that allow Wi-Fi devices, applications, and network managers to prioritize traffic flows by establishing a standards-based approach to QoS mirroring, and by aligning with IETF recommendations for QoS mapping between Internet Protocol (IP) and IEEE 802.11. Residential, enterprise, and public networks benefit from Wi-Fi QoS Management, particularly when using applications requiring low latency and low jitter, including videoconferencing, interactive gaming, AR/VR, industrial IoT, and healthcare monitoring.
Wi-Fi QoS Management provides standardized 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 select differentiated prioritization depending on the application. 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.
“Today’s Wi-Fi networks carry a demanding amount of real-time data applications that require discerning treatment to deliver high quality experiences,” said Edgar Figueroa, president and CEO, Wi-Fi Alliance. “Wi-Fi Alliance is introducing Wi-Fi QoS Management as a new way to manage Wi-Fi traffic and ensure end-user expectations for superior performance continue to be met.”
Wi-Fi QoS Management features two key technologies:
MSCS – based on the concept of “mirrored” QoS – provides a simple means for applications on user devices to request traffic be assigned the desired priority level. This bidirectional QoS treatment ensures consistent, reduced latency for the device application and delivers positive Wi-Fi experiences even when the Wi-Fi channel is congested. DSCP mapping allows the network manager to map traffic from both access points and client devices to a particular QoS priority across the network. In enterprise networks, a network manager can configure videoconferencing traffic as high priority and configure a mapping table that can be updated to ensure the requirements of mission-critical services are met.
Member companies providing interoperability test bed devices that are among the first Wi-Fi CERTIFIED QoS Management products include Broadcom Inc., Intel, and Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.
Industry support for Wi-Fi QoS Management:
“Airties and Wi-Fi Alliance share an ongoing commitment to improve the home Wi-Fi experience. We commend Wi-Fi Alliance’s new efforts in Wi-Fi QoS Management aimed at enhancing the performance of real-time applications. This feature can certainly serve to complement the kind of advanced Smart Wi-Fi software and cloud management solutions provided by Airties to service providers around the globe.” –Metin Taskin, CTO, Airties
“Wi-Fi QoS Management is the first step to transform Wi-Fi connectivity from “best effort” to consistent availability for specific data traffic streams, especially for teleworking and distributed enterprise applications. Wi-Fi QoS Management capability is a key building block for ASSIA products.” – Tuncay Cil, Chief Strategy Officer, ASSIA
“Broadcom applauds Wi-Fi Alliance for releasing the Wi-Fi CERTIFIED QoS Management program, and is honored to be selected as a test bed supplier. Wi-Fi QoS Management provides the tools to empower application developers and vendors of mobile and gaming devices to manage bidirectional traffic flows on home and enterprise Wi-Fi networks to enable the required quality of service for all applications. It also provides essential tools to enable network administrators to manage QoS at a system level. Wi-Fi QoS Management combined with Wi-Fi 6E will enable enterprises, operators, and users to enjoy latency sensitive applications such as live video streaming, gaming, augmented and virtual reality, even in spectrally congested and challenging environments.” – Thomas Derham, Sr. Principal Scientist, Wireless Communications and Connectivity Division, Broadcom Inc., and contributor to the Wi-Fi Alliance Wi-Fi QoS Management task group
“CommScope is committed to ensuring that the networks and homes we serve are capable of enabling the lower latency and more deterministic connectivity that services require. Wi-Fi in both single family and multi-dwelling unit homes needs to be capable of prioritizing services such as working from home applications and emerging low latency immersive experiences (gaming, AR/VR). We welcome the new Wi-Fi QoS Management certification program and any initiatives that can deliver round trip quality of service for Wi-Fi.” –  Ian Wheelock, Engineering Fellow, CommScope
“End-to-end QoS support is extremely important for our devices to deliver better Wi-Fi experiences for a new breed of applications such as cloud, gaming, AR/VR, and video conferencing that demand low latency and higher traffic priority treatment. Intel is happy to be a leader of the QoS work at Wi-Fi Alliance and having our product be among the first ones to be certified for Wi-Fi CERTIFIED QoS Management.” – Eric McLaughlin, VP Client Computing Group, GM Wireless Solutions Group, Intel Corporation
“Wi-Fi is an essential enabler for today’s digital economy and provides the backbone for multiple real-time applications with simultaneous usage of voice, video and data. ON Semiconductor has been a strong supporter of Wi-Fi Alliance’s certification programs to optimize Wi-Fi network performance. As such, QoS is a cornerstone of our technology platforms with built-in functionality to differentiate between traffic flows, giving precedence to high priority traffic and ensuring airtime fairness across both flow types and devices. It is all about improving user experience, and reducing latency, packet loss, and jitter.” – Irvind Ghai, vice president of marketing, Wireless Connectivity and Signal Process Division, ON Semiconductor
“Wi-Fi QoS Management is very valuable to provide improved user experiences for throughput and latency intensive applications, such as gaming, video and multimedia applications. By verifying interoperability between access points and client devices on Wi-Fi networks, this certification program from Wi-Fi Alliance is an important milestone to help the benefits of Wi-Fi QoS Management reach their full potential.” – Rahul Patel, senior vice president and general manager, Connectivity and Networking, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.
For more information, please visit https://www.wi-fi.org/discover-wi-fi/wi-fi-qos-management.
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.
What’s your plan for network security? Are you focused on other areas hoping your company doesn’t join the growing list of security breaches? With technology touching every part of our lives, it’s imperative that your organization is prepared to defend assets.
The Current Landscape
Multifamily owners and operators are taxed with providing connectivity options to satisfy tech-savvy residents. As if streaming entertainment and IoT devices weren’t big enough drivers to beef up bandwidth, the COVID-19 pandemic created an overnight surge on residential networks. Businesses moved to telecommuting where possible while classrooms were emptied in exchange for distance learning. Existing multifamily communities are likely to experience bandwidth issues when online productivity and collaboration tools such as Zoom take over daily communication. But bandwidth isn’t the only concern. Security and data protection should be top of mind for everyone.
Navigating Internet and TV providers is one of the biggest challenges facing multifamily owners and operators. Until now, the default has been to let legacy cable and phone companies handle the service. But that approach presents multiple problems. The traditional approach leaves multifamily owners and operators along with their residents at the mercy of the provider, awaiting days for installation only to receive limited direct access within the confines of residential units. Or, perhaps residents are instructed to contact local providers and negotiate service on their own. In either case, a critical layer of security is often overlooked.
Whether bringing in a new network partner or upgrading existing technology, it is important to evaluate security applications as well as future bandwidth requirements to ensure a flawless operation.
The Dark Side of Technology
It is becoming more and more difficult to control where data ends up, and who can access. As multifamily executives seek technology to power business innovation and attract residents, it’s more vital than ever to safeguard data.
A few years ago, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) entered our vocabulary and brought awareness to the inherent flaws of Wi-Fi. Today’s security landscape is even more challenging with cyberattacks on the rise and predicted to cost the world $6 trillion annually by 20211.
According to a Gallup®study, Americans are more worried about being a victim of cybercrime than being a victim of violent crime.
Most networks are unencrypted, meaning any device connected to Wi-Fi is effectively sending all data in clear-text, essentially leaving an open door for hackers to identify and extract personal information. And, we can’t assume that websites with an SSL certificate (https://) are safe.
Key Indicators Your Staff and Residents are Not Protected
– Your network uses a captive portal (sign-in page) to authenticate users
– Share Wi-Fi password amongst staff, residents and/or visitors
– Using a single SSID with no passphrase provides a breeding ground to “man in the middle attacks”
The surge in residential Internet access has created an open door for cybercriminals to easily capture private information. With security breaches on the rise and a spotlight on privacy laws, multifamily executives need to evaluate and solve security risks now to stop man-in-the-middle attacks, rogue access points and more.
Take a Proactive High-ground
Rather forced or welcomed, adopting a new network lightens the technology burden for residents and staff while opening doors for new profit centers.
Imagine… a world where your technology is always on and community wide. A world where residents don’t need a tech degree to on-board individual devices. BlueportiQ offers a fully integrated management platform. No more wasted time resetting Nest devices when a resident moves out. A truly portal-less solution that makes understanding MAC addresses a thing of the past and replaces it with simple OEM instructions for adding IoT devices.
When implemented right, secure technology is an essential driver in maintaining brand loyalty, attracting new residents and increasing revenue.
Reference
1 The Number One Cybersecurity Statistic That C-Suite Executives Should Know
January 18, 2021 by Christopher Szymanski
The year 2020 was monumental for Wi-Fi®. The United States, the United Kingdom, South Korea, and Chile designated the 6 GHz band for unlicensed use, a slew of additional countries explored opening the band, Wi-Fi Alliance® introduced the Wi-Fi 6E branding, and top Wi-Fi innovators announced a variety of new products.
And it’s already been a busy start to 2021 for 6 GHz Wi-Fi.
Last week, Wi-Fi Alliance launched its Wi-Fi 6E certification program, and Wi-Fi 6E devices are already being certified. At CES this week, access point vendors, such as TP-Link unveiled Wi-Fi 6E routers. Intel also announced an update to its vPro platform and MediaTek received FCC certification, both of which bring Wi-Fi 6E to laptop computers.
Just yesterday, at its annual Unpacked event, Samsung introduced the world’s first Wi-Fi 6E phone: the Galaxy S21 Ultra, which is powered by Broadcom’s BCM4389 chip. The GS21 Ultra has five cameras to develop ultra-rich media, and consumers can share what they create with blisteringly fast Wi-Fi 6E.
Wi-Fi 6E enables these advanced applications and 5G services by taking advantage of brand new spectrum: 1,200 MHz of open airwaves in the 6 GHz band. The seven new 160 MHz channel bandwidths will double Wi-Fi speeds and cut latency in half compared to Wi-Fi 5. In fact, the BCM4389 delivers over 2 Gbps of real-world speeds, up to five times better battery utilization, improved coverage, and ultra-low latency — less than 1 ms. The reliable, high-speed connections of Wi-Fi 6E bring the classroom or the office into a smartphone.
With Wi-Fi 6E, the smartphone becomes a smart hub or smart computing platform, allowing consumers to connect to peripheral devices such as AR/VR glasses, smart speakers, TVs, and the ever-growing number of home networking devices without any decrease in performance. Gamers will delight in gaming without glitches or delays.
So why should consumers get excited about this Wi-Fi innovation? A handheld Wi-Fi 6E device is a gamechanger for two reasons: a fast, flawless user experience and the various innovative use cases that it will fuel.
Wi-Fi 6E will be a workhorse for powering 5G services, making it an ideal solution for flagship smartphones, laptops, AR and VR devices, and future Internet of Things (IoT) innovations.
In a video-first world, Wi-Fi 6E empowers consumers with a clean frequency band that delivers multi-gigabit speeds. A Wi-Fi 6E smartphone like the Galaxy S21 Ultra will enable ultra-high-definition video streaming and multiparty video conferencing, making working and playing from home a breeze. This will speed the proliferation of 8K video, casting, and more. And, with the ability to download a movie, photo, or file at speeds over a gigabit per second, sharing becomes nearly instantaneous.
With 160 MHz channels, Wi-Fi 6E will enable more precise Wi-Fi location indoors, where GPS location is not as accurate. This will enable applications, such as asset tracking, emergency services, and keyless entry. In the not-so-distant future, you will be able to list the items you wish to buy in an application and be provided aisle-to-shelf routing throughout the store to pick up your merchandise on the exact shelf on which it is located—first using your smartphone, and in the future with your AR glasses.
Wi-Fi 6E will also leverage important peer-to-peer Wi-Fi technologies to improve Client-to-Client communications. Imagine sharing 8K videos with your family or friends after a trip in the blink of an eye, or blisteringly fast transfers for unified communications across various devices, both in the workplace and at home. Be it automating school attendance or securely printing documents without having to log in to a network, these applications will work even better.
The vast amount of 6 GHz spectrum, along with Wi-Fi 6E scheduling, will limit channel contention. Not only will this provide the world’s best gaming experience, but it will also enable immersive educational opportunities for students and training exercises for employees. Walmart, which uses virtual reality to train employees for Black Friday crowds, could soon use VR glasses and a compute device contained in a smartphone. All these next-generation applications exist in the palm of the hand.
This will undoubtedly be the year of Wi-Fi 6E. Now more than ever, the benefits of wireless connectivity are more valuable than we ever imagined. From supporting a portion of our workforce with remote working to helping educate our children with distance learning, Wi-Fi truly is the backbone of our economy.
Thanks to strong regulatory momentum and industry efforts, Wi-Fi 6E will quickly proliferate in phones, PCs, and other devices this year. This technology offers disruptive speeds and low latency benefits, and consumers and enterprises alike will see this value. A vibrant ecosystem of Wi-Fi 6E end devices will burgeon this year and the world will be unmistakably replete with Wi-Fi.
Today, with Wi-Fi 6E smartphone, laptops, and routers already available, the next generation has arrived, and consumers’ wireless experience will never be the same.
Mercku’s M6 Wi-Fi 6 system was named the Consumer Technology Association’s Networking Product of the Year in the Mark of Excellence 2021 Awards – an award series that annually recognizes the tech industry’s top smart home innovations. Â
Every year, The Mark of Excellence Awards, presented by the Smart Home Division of the Consumer Technology Association (CTA)®, recognizes the best in custom integration and installed technology. The most innovative technology companies compete in more than 20 award categories and are judged by independent experts from established industry leaders. In a year where consumers are spending more time at home than ever before, we are honored to have received the 2021 Mark of Excellence Award for M6 AX Mesh in the Networking Product of the Year category.Â
This recognition embodies Mercku’s commitment to building the next era of connectivity. By awarding Mercku with the Mark of Excellence Award, CTA spotlights the impact we have on our users’ daily lives and shows the importance of innovative Wi-Fi products as the foundation of all connected smart home technology. We share this award with all our partners, distributors and users around the world, as we are thrilled to lead the way into an innovative, user-centered, connected future. Â
Read the full story on CTA.techÂ
GREENSBORO, NC – January 12, 2021 – Qorvo® (Nasdaq:QRVO), a leading provider of innovative solutions that connect and power the world, today introduced two Wi-Fi 6E front end modules (FEMs) designed to maximize throughput and range in high-bandwidth applications such as 8K video streaming, online gaming and virtual reality.
Wi-Fi 6E is an extension of Wi-Fi 6 that operates in the recently opened 6 GHz frequency band, in addition to the traditional 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands. Wi-Fi 6E triples Wi-Fi capacity with contiguous spectrum to accommodate 7 additional 160 MHz-wide channels or 14 additional 80 MHz channels. Qorvo’s Wi-Fi 6E FEMs unleash the full potential of this new spectrum, delivering leading linearity performance and maximizing throughput and capacity at peak permissible indoor power levels.
The Qorvo QPF4656 and QPF4632 deliver robust and rugged performance with world-class energy efficiency, and the highest speed and throughput at the maximum power levels supported by Wi-Fi 6E’s extended bandwidth. The QPF4656 is designed for consumer Wi-Fi 6E routers and gateways. The QPF4632 is designed for enterprise power-over-ethernet (POE) Wi-Fi 6E products and applications.
The Qorvo Wi-Fi 6E FEMs deliver up to 25% more power efficiency than current solutions in compact packaging, enabling cost, size and thermal performance advantages in consumer and enterprise wireless networking solutions.
Cees Links, general manager of Qorvo’s Wireless Connectivity business, said, “Qorvo’s new Wi-Fi 6E FEMs deliver on the Wi-Fi 6E promise to enable high-bandwidth applications with faster data speeds and lower latency—and in smaller, more rugged form factors. Consumers and businesses will see significant improvements in home entertainment, gaming and social experiences.”
The QPF4656 and QPF4632 FEMs are sampling now.
Connect with us virtually during the all-digital CES® (#CES2021), January 11-14. For more information about Qorvo’s solutions, announcements and meeting inquiries, visit our Qorvo CES 2021 landing page.
Qorvo’s Wi-Fi portfolio serves a broad range of products from flagship smartphones and tablets, to consumer and enterprise gateway and smart home applications. Qorvo’s Wi-Fi 6 solutions enable significantly faster wireless upload and download speeds, increased capacity and improved power efficiency.
About Qorvo
Qorvo (Nasdaq: QRVO) makes a better world possible by providing innovative Radio Frequency (RF) solutions at the center of connectivity. We combine product and technology leadership, systems-level expertise and global manufacturing scale to quickly solve our customers’ most complex technical challenges. Qorvo serves diverse high-growth segments of large global markets, including advanced wireless devices, wired and wireless networks and defense radar and communications. We also leverage unique competitive strengths to advance 5G networks, cloud computing, the Internet of Things, and other emerging applications that expand the global framework interconnecting people, places and things. Visit www.qorvo.comto learn how Qorvo connects the world.
Qorvo is a registered trademark of Qorvo, Inc. in the U.S. and in other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
| Investor Relations Contact: Doug DeLieto VP, Investor Relations +1-336-678-7968 |
Media Contact: Katie Caballero Marketing Communications Manager Qorvo Infrastructure and Defense Products +1 972-994-8546 katie.caballero@qorvo.com |
This press release includes “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements about our plans, objectives, representations and contentions, and are not historical facts and typically are identified by use of terms such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “could,” “expect,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential,” “continue” and similar words, although some forward-looking statements are expressed differently. You should be aware that the forward-looking statements included herein represent management’s current judgment and expectations, but our actual results, events and performance could differ materially from those expressed or implied by forward-looking statements. We do not intend to update any of these forward-looking statements or publicly announce the results of any revisions to these forward-looking statements, other than as is required under U.S. federal securities laws. Our business is subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, including those relating to fluctuations in our operating results; our substantial dependence on developing new products and achieving design wins; our dependence on a few large customers for a substantial portion of our revenue; a loss of revenue if contracts with the United States government or defense and aerospace contractors are canceled or delayed or if defense spending is reduced; the COVID-19 pandemic, which has and will likely continue to negatively impact the global economy and disrupt normal business activities, and which may have an adverse effect on our results of operations; our dependence on third parties; risks related to sales through distributors; risks associated with the operation of our manufacturing facilities; business disruptions; poor manufacturing yields; increased inventory risks and costs due to timing of customer forecasts; our inability to effectively manage or maintain evolving relationships with platform providers; risks from international sales and operations; economic regulation in China; changes in government trade policies, including imposition of tariffs and export restrictions; our ability to implement innovative technologies; underutilization of manufacturing facilities as a result of industry overcapacity; we may not be able to borrow funds under our credit facility or secure future financing; we may not be able to generate sufficient cash to service all of our debt; restrictions imposed by the agreements governing our debt; volatility in the price of our common stock; damage to our reputation or brand; fluctuations in the amount and frequency of our stock repurchases; our recent and future acquisitions and other strategic investments could fail to achieve financial or strategic objectives; our ability to attract, retain and motivate key employees; our reliance on our intellectual property portfolio; claims of infringement of third-party intellectual property rights; security breaches and other similar disruptions compromising our information; theft, loss or misuse of personal data by or about our employees, customers or third parties; warranty claims, product recalls and product liability; and risks associated with environmental, health and safety regulations and climate change. Many of the foregoing risks and uncertainties are, and will continue to be, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and any worsening of the global business and economic environment as a result. These and other risks and uncertainties, which are described in more detail in Qorvo’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and in other reports and statements filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, could cause actual results and developments to be materially different from those expressed or implied by any of these forward-looking statements.
Wi-Fi® interoperability in 6 GHz promotes worldwide innovation and diverse ecosystem
Austin, Texas – January 7, 2021 – Wi-Fi Alliance® certification for Wi-Fi 6E is now available to deliver interoperability for devices operating in the 6 GHz spectrum. Interoperability certification for Wi-Fi 6E – as part of Wi-Fi CERTIFIED 6™ – is introduced as global momentum for Wi-Fi® operation in the 6 GHz band increases daily. Wi-Fi 6E brings the immense benefits of 6 GHz spectrum to consumers, device manufacturers, and service providers as the band is being made available around the world. Wi-Fi Alliance certification helps ensure users receive a secure, reliable, and interoperable experience with Wi-Fi 6E devices.
Following the decision by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission to open 1200 MHz of 6 GHz spectrum for Wi-Fi use, the U.K., Europe, Chile, South Korea, and the United Arab Emirates have also made the decision to deliver 6 GHz for Wi-Fi. Countries including Brazil, Canada, Mexico, Peru, Taiwan, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Myanmar, and Jordan are quickly progressing towards opening 6 GHz for unlicensed operation. Wi-Fi Alliance is delivering on its promise to make certification for Wi-Fi 6E products available as the spectrum becomes available. Multiple product vendors are already announcing Wi-Fi 6E devices that make use of the superwide 160 MHz channels and uncongested bandwidth in 6 GHz to deliver multigigabit, low latency Wi-Fi. Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ provides a standards-based approach for product vendors to introduce secure and interoperable Wi-Fi 6E products throughout the world, helping to create a diverse device ecosystem.
“Wi-Fi 6E will see rapid adoption in 2021 with more than 338 million devices entering the market, and nearly 20 percent of all Wi-Fi 6 device shipments supporting 6 GHz by 2022,” said Phil Solis, research director at IDC. “This year, we expect to see new Wi-Fi 6E chipsets from several companies, and a variety of new Wi-Fi 6E smartphones, PCs, and laptops in the first quarter of 2021 followed by TVs and VR product announcements midyear.”
Wi-Fi 6E certification utilizes cutting-edge WPA3™ security that continually evolves to address market needs. WPA3 has recently been updated to support even more robust password generation, mitigate additional attacks, and further protect and maintain privacy on Wi-Fi networks. Wi-Fi 6E extends into the 6 GHz band the capabilities of Wi-Fi CERTIFIED 6, including orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA), target wake time (TWT), and multi-user multiple input, multiple output (MU-MIMO). These features all benefit from the additional 6 GHz spectrum capacity and the availability of up to seven superwide 160 MHz channels to move more data and deliver high-bandwidth Wi-Fi 6E applications including unified communications, AR/VR, and holographic video. Wi-Fi 6E delivers lower latency to satisfy industrial IoT and enterprise environment requirements. Wi-Fi 6E brings additional capacity, speed, and reduced latency for critical activities such as telecommuting, telepresence, and distance learning.
A new animation highlights the role of Wi-Fi 6E in delivering Wi-Fi innovation.
“Worldwide interoperability for Wi-Fi 6E devices promotes rapid adoption and innovation in 6 GHz,” said Edgar Figueroa, president and CEO, Wi-Fi Alliance. “Users will soon experience unprecedented Wi-Fi that significantly improves applications and delivers new use cases that will change their connected experiences.”
Member companies providing interoperability test bed devices that are among the first Wi-Fi 6E certified products include: Broadcom, Intel, MaxLinear, MediaTek, ON Semiconductor, and Qualcomm.
For more information, please visit: www.wi-fi.org/discover-wi-fi/wi-fi-certified-6.
With a robust 74 percent adoption rate of its subscriber-facing mobile application, the regional Wyoming CSP is owning the subscriber relationship by delivering the Ultimate Wi-Fi experience and differentiating customer-service with the latest and most popular subscriber-facing services and apps
SAN JOSE, CA – December 17, 2020 – Calix, Inc. (NYSE: CALX) today announced that Silver Star Communications is harnessing the power of the complete Calix Revenue EDGE solution to deliver the Ultimate Wi-Fi Experience, solidifying its relationships with subscribers and fending off trillion-dollar consumer brands. Silver Star first deployed the GigaSpire® BLAST in 2019, delivering industry-best Wi-Fi 6 coverage and establishing functionality through which it could continuously and effortlessly upgrade the subscriber experience thanks to the power of the EXOS® platform and EDGE Suites. With a 74 percent adoption rate of the CommandIQ™ mobile app, the Wyoming communications service provider (CSP) now owns a direct channel to engage with subscribers instantly. This opens the door for Silver Star to tap upsell opportunities and deliver more revenue-generating applications as Calix adds partners to EDGE Suites.
With the CommandIQ mobile app—which Calix designed and can be branded under the CSP’s name—subscribers can customize their experience, run speed tests, leverage voice services, set application priorities, manage parental controls, secure their entire home network with ProtectIQ™ and much more. At the beginning of 2020, Silver Star rolled out the CommandIQ app (which it branded as the Silver Star Home Zone app) and has promoted it with every BLAST system installation. By bundling ProtectIQ as a service along with its BLAST systems, Silver Star has driven an impressive 81 percent adoption rate of the advanced security app. The regional CSP will embrace Calix Marketing Cloud further in 2021 to leverage subscriber data and drive similar upsell opportunities.
The regional CSP delivers comprehensive and differentiated services with amazing whole-home coverage built on the most advanced subscriber and network intelligence through EDGE Insights. Silver Star is managing subscriber experiences proactively through Calix Support Cloud (CSC), resolving three-fourths of trouble tickets without a truck roll—half in a single call. Furthermore, with access to the deep expertise from Calix Customer Success Services teams, Silver Star customer support teams are implementing best practices that deliver superior customer care and create value.
“Tapping into everything that the Revenue EDGE has to offer has given us a new, holistic approach to center our entire business model around the subscriber experience,” said Barbara Sessions, VP and COO for Silver Star. “We now have all the pieces in place to stay ahead of what our communities expect and what our competitors can deliver, but it all starts with serving our subscribers. Customer service is paramount to us, so in the event of network issues or trouble calls, it is vital that we resolve them with minimal disruption. This level of support is part of delivering an unmatched subscriber experience—not simply services. We look forward to growing our partnership with Calix as we continue to innovate and expand our business.”
A Calix customer of more than a decade, Silver Star Communications delivered the first 10G service in the state of Wyoming in 2018 with an AXOS® XGS-PON network. The regional CSP serves Western Wyoming and Eastern Idaho, connecting this region to major cities in adjacent states over a company-owned fiber network of more than 1,100 miles.
“Service providers like Silver Star are leading the way when it comes to owning the subscribers’ home experience,” said Michael Weening, EVP and COO for Calix. “The full Revenue EDGE solution puts the power of data and innovation back in the hands of the CSP and blocks the consumer giants trying to hijack the subscriber relationships. Add in network security and parental controls through the EDGE Suites—all fully managed through the CommandIQ mobile app, branded under the Silver Star name—and Silver Star has everything necessary to delight subscribers and crush competitors. As Calix continues to roll out new partners, such as leading internet-connected camera brand Arlo, to EDGE Suites, the momentum of forward-thinking CSPs like Silver Star will be unstoppable.”
Learn more about the Revenue EDGE solution and the customizable CommandIQmobile application.
About Calix
Calix, Inc. (NYSE: CALX) – Innovative communications service providers rely on Calix platforms to help them master and monetize the complex infrastructure between their subscribers and the cloud. Calix is the leading global provider of the cloud and software platforms, systems, and services required to deliver the unified access network and smart premises of tomorrow. Our platforms and services help our customers build next generation networks by embracing a DevOps operating model, optimize the subscriber experience by leveraging big data analytics and turn the complexity of the smart, connected home and business into new revenue streams.
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.
