Cradlepoint gigabit LTE edge router supports mission critical public safety users

As Verizon works to compete in the public safety market against AT&T’s nationwide FirstNet first responders network, the operator has recently certified a new edge router for public safety and enterprise users and racked up a public safety win with the state of Massachusetts.

In Massachusetts, Verizon struck a statewide deal to offer public safety wireless services on its private network core. Verizon said it will provide “seamless” communications across wireless carriers, and that public safety users responding to major incidents “will be able to talk, text, share multimedia and communicate in real-time, regardless of their selected public safety grade wireless carrier, plan or device.”

On the device-side, Cradlepoint announced that its gigabit LTE edge router gained certification for use on Verizon’s network and called out support for public safety and enterprise users, as well as the ability to support traditional wireless services along with internet of things connectivity.

Cradlepoint’s Lindsay Notwell, SVP of 5G strategy and global carrier operations, noted applications the edge router is tailored for, including in-vehicle networks and surveillance cameras. During a panel discussion in London at 5G World, Notwell discussed how Cradlepoint brings a horizontal solution to service a variety of vertical market segments and has approximately 1,000 partners that address particular vertical niches.

“They’ve needed the horizontal solution–that’s what we’ve provided–but then they integrate it to solve a particular customer’s needs. Then they look for similar customers…within that particular vertical niche. It’s having a portfolio of partners that deliver specific value-add that has really made this successful.”

The edge router provides users a “pathway to 5G,” Cradlepoint said. Notwell, using firefighting as an example, discussed the applications 5G will support when it’s broadly available. “If you see a firefighter show…they bust down the door and you watch the camera go in and what do we see? You see flames and you see the ceiling falling and that sort of thing. In reality that’s just not true. What you see when you walk into a burning building is nothing.”

To harness 5G to change this paradigm, Cradlepoint has partnered with Qwake, a startup that has developed a connected visor that uses computer vision, augmented reality, thermal imaging and cellular technology to essentially allow a firefighter to see through the smoke.

“This is one of those great applications that I get really excited about because that’s truly transformative,” Notwell said. Latency, in terms of single-digit milliseconds, in that kind of a use case can mean the difference between life and death. 5G will be truly transformative.”