Oslo-based Cloudberry Mobile said it has partnered with Cisco Systems on a managed service designed to lower the cost of small cell deployments and make them attractive to a broader audience of service providers.
Cloudberry's "small cell as a service" (SCaaS) offering hosts a small cell gateway and remotely operates the logistics of rolling out enterprise and residential small cells. During the Mobile World Congress this past February, Cloudberry announced it was working with UK-based small cell developer Ubiquisys on the managed service offering. However, in April Cisco announced it was buying Ubiquisys in a deal valued at $310 million.
Cloudberry's SCaas service is now built entirely upon Cisco's small cell portfolio. "Other requirements include scalability for the managed service, provided by Cisco's small cell gateway systems; enterprise Wi-Fi compatibility, provided by Cisco heterogeneous access products; and broader capabilities such as Cisco's commercially deployed HetNet SON systems and wireless backhaul," Cloudberry said.
The company's managed service is targeted at smaller network carriers in European countries, such as the third or fourth operators, as well as MVNOs because those entities typically have limited network assets, IT infrastructure and labor assets.
Other companies involved in the SCaaS space include Virgin Media in Europe and ClearSky in the United States.
For more:
- see this Cloudberry release
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