LAS VEGAS—Taking advantage of the CES 2018 hullabaloo, Starry announced it will collaborate with Marvell to make a new set of fixed wireless access technologies available to other companies, all in an effort to speed the deployment of fixed wireless 5G technologies.
The collaboration brings elements of Starry’s millimeter wave, prestandard 5G fixed wireless technology—namely its integrated-circuit, smart-antenna technology—together with Marvell’s expertise in 802.11ax technology.
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According to a press release, the initiative focuses on two areas: The first part involves making the “blueprint” or reference design available for Starry’s millimeter wave, point-to-multipoint fixed broadband transceivers. The design incorporates Marvell’s 802.11ax chipsets with Starry’s millimeter wave integrated circuit, smart antenna and cloud management software.
Starry says that making the technology available more broadly in domestic and international markets will help fixed wireless providers of all sizes dramatically improve scalability and deployment of their network, making ubiquitous broadband access closer to reality. For new market entrants, it provides a way to build an end-to-end wireless broadband access network.
The second part of the collaboration between the two companies calls for them to make available a cloud-based internet and Wi-Fi Network Monitoring Platform, which can be used to manage every node of a network and see network performance in real time, from base stations and receivers to in-home Wi-Fi hubs. The suite of technologies will be made available to companies that are using Starry’s transceiver technology and to existing internet service providers or other types of broadband providers looking for software technology to manage their networks.
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Together, these two technology offerings represent a significant leap forward in making prestandard 5G technology more broadly available to advance the development of next-generation access networks outside of the typical incumbent footprint, according to Starry, which uses licensed 37.0-38.6 GHz spectrum.
More about this strategy is sure to emerge this week as Chet Kanojia, Starry's founder and CEO, is due to speak at Citi’s Annual Global Technology, Media and Telecommunications West Conference in Las Vegas on Wednesday. Plus, elements of the technologies are going to be on display at Marvell’s suite during CES.
Last week, Starry said it will expand into two new markets beyond its Boston proving grounds, announcing it will launch a beta service in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., this month. Plans call for expanding over the next year into 14 additional markets, including New York, Cleveland, Chicago, Houston, Dallas, Denver, Seattle, Detroit, Atlanta, Indianapolis, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Miami and Minneapolis.