The AT&T Managed Wireless WAN is a plug-and-play platform that can serve fixed sites where wired connections are not available, not reliable, too expensive or cannot be deployed quickly enough.
The concept is that the emergence of 5G enables platforms that offer the best of the wired and wireless worlds. On the wireless side, the platform can be deployed quickly and with great flexibility.
This can be done while matching the wired world’s speeds, latency and networking capabilities. The platform, which also supports LTE, is managed as a monthly service by AT&T and is available now.
AT&T says that wired connections can take weeks or months to deploy and only reach fixed locations. Another option – a hotspot – likely is not sufficient to support the full range of business services.
The platform from AT&T can connect thousands of endpoints and provide primary or fail-over connectivity for SD-WANs.
The service features Cradlepoint NetCloud 4G LTE and 5G edge devices. It is available as a monthly service, eliminating upfront hardware and licensing costs. In-vehicle and IoT use cases are expected to be added in the future.
Cradlepoint was acquired by Ericsson in September 2020.
“The workforce is continuing to evolve, and having the right tools is essential to a business – no matter where the business is getting done,” Will Eborall, assistant vice president of product marketing management, AT&T, said in a press release. “AT&T Managed Wireless WAN provides flexible connectivity using the latest LTE and 5G technology devices to deliver a consistent and reliable network experience that’s fully managed, helping to transform how organizations can generate revenue, streamline operations and serve customers.”
Another product recently released by AT&T for the business market is the AT&T SASE with Cisco Meraki.
The offering, which was introduced earlier this month, is a networking and security platform that provides businesses with access from anywhere, according to the carrier. Secure Access server edge (SASE) technology grew significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a survey conducted by Versa Networks
