Telstra to co-develop 5G for business solutions with Cradlepoint

Telstra has struck a partnership with network solutions vendor Cradlepoint to co-develop a 5G offering for its SMB and enterprise customers.

The telco will utilise Cradlepoint’s NetCloud platform, which allows customers to build and manage wireless WANs featuring lifecycle management, edge security and SD-WAN traffic management.

Cradlepoint said its platform offers a “pathway to 5G” by providing wireless edge solutions for fixed, mobile and IoT networks designed to work with advanced LTE networks.

The two companies will collaborate to develop an integrated 5G modem and edge router solution to work with 5G mobile technology.

“5G internet broadband for business customers of all sizes represents a significant opportunity for Telstra,” said Telstra’s product & service design exec Andrew Stormonty.

“We know that the networking needs of our small-to-medium business and enterprise customers are very different from consumers’, which has played a key role in our decision to partner with Cradlepoint for a ‘5G for Business’ solution.”

Cradlepoint noted in a press release that the needs of business customers differs from consumers in regards to manageability, security and reliability, and that 5G networks must fit within the overall WAN architectures.

Cradlepoint’s executive director, carrier business development Andrew Volard said the 5G for Business offering will modernise private WAN and internet access across the country.

“Telstra understands that business customers are ready to embrace 5G to enable disruptive new applications that can transform business and customer experiences, but they cannot afford to lose critical enterprise-class capabilities to get it.”

Telstra's 5G network went live this year, though is only available in certain pockets in large metropolitan areas, but will eventually roll out nation-wide.