After completing a suite of interoperability and regulatory test cases in the labs of AT&T, private 5G network technology provider Celona has expanded its 5G LAN Neutral Host solution through the US mobile network operator (MNO).
Celona Neutral Host is designed to allow businesses to improve the customer experience for cellular subscribers by extending public cellular coverage into environments with poor cellular reception. Celona is confident that Neutral Host can be deployed and operational in a fraction of the time at half the cost of legacy distributed antenna systems (DAS), giving enterprises unrivalled control and management of in-building public cellular services. The technology is under the control of enterprise IT teams, without the need for additional on-site equipment.
By using and sharing existing enterprise local area network (LAN) and wide area network (WAN) infrastructure, private 5G-based neutral host networking is a modern approach developed to provide high-quality cellular coverage while roaming from the public network onto a private network.
Specifically, Celona Neutral Host aims to enable any device, such as smartphones and tablets with SIMs/eSIMs from AT&T and T-Mobile, to automatically detect, authenticate and connect to the Celona 5G LAN over Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) spectrum, increasing public cellular network coverage and capacity while reducing capital and operating expenses. This is said to create a unique advantage of the Celona solution: that it works for businesses of all sizes, from the smallest retail store to the largest hospital. It includes the flagship Celona AP 20 indoor multimode access point that supports 4G and 5G.
The solution is powered by Celona’s cloud-based Multi Operator Exchange (MOXN), which is designed to simplify operations and manageability by removing cumbersome and costly hardware burdens and create a secure tunnel to the operator’s public network. Mobile subscriber traffic is aggregated and securely tunnelled to the MNO core network, making the entire experience transparent to users while guaranteeing subscriber service level agreements (SLAs) and key performance indicators (KPIs) for each MNO’s public cellular service.
Data and voice sessions are routed to the respective mobile operator networks and Celona Neutral Host appears exactly like each carrier’s regular public cellular services, allowing subscribers to automatically connect and authenticate to the service on their cellular devices. No special setup is required from the user or the operator.
Certified previously with T-Mobile, Celona Neutral Host is now extended to AT&T subscribers when they walk into a building covered by a 5G LAN network, delivering on the KPI requirements of the operator. The certification of Celona Neutral Host for AT&T subscribers includes support for voice and data services, emergency services including 911 calling, and other vital subscriber services with regulatory compliance.
Commenting on the certification, Celona co-founder and chief technology officer (CTO) Mehmet Yavuz said: “Celona Neutral Host represents a significant advancement in enterprise connectivity and is an even more compelling solution now that AT&T has joined. Due to their rigorous test and certification process, AT&T can ensure their customers receive the superior cellular service they expect. And enterprises simply sign one contract with Celona. It’s fast, simple and cost-effective.”
According to Celona, its private wireless Neutral Host is ideally suited for healthcare environments, large retailers, offices, hotels and universities. It offers enterprises flexible deployment and pricing options that allow Neutral Host to be easily enabled on existing Celona private wireless networks or discretely deployed as a standalone solution for Neutral Host-only services. As it was being certified by AT&T, the solution completed a large-scale live production trial with Stanford Health Care.
Stanford plans to expand the deployment of private 5G neutral host networks to multiple buildings across several sites throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. “Stanford Health Care is pioneering advancements in healthcare, dedicated to enhancing the experience and the outcomes for our patients and clinical staff,” said Christian Lindmark, CTO at Stanford Health Care and Stanford School of Medicine.
“Beyond ensuring reliable public cellular connectivity within our facilities, we envision utilising this platform to establish a secure private wireless network dedicated to essential medical technologies, including clinical communication, patient monitoring and clinical video streaming,” he added.