Category: 5G

Who Acquired Sierra Wireless?

CAMARILLO, Calif., & VANCOUVER, British Columbia–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Semtech Corporation (Nasdaq: SMTC), a leading global supplier of high-performance analog and mixed-signal semiconductors and advanced algorithms, and Sierra Wireless, Inc. (Nasdaq: SWIR) (TSX: SW), a world-renowned Internet of Things (IoT) solutions provider, yesterday announced a definitive agreement under which Semtech will acquire all outstanding shares of Sierra Wireless for US$31 per share in an all-cash transaction representing a total enterprise value of approximately US$1.2 billion, subject to customary closing conditions. The acquisition will significantly expand Semtech’s addressable market and is expected to approximately double Semtech’s annual revenue and create a strong and diverse portfolio of connectivity solutions for the growing IoT market, making it easier for customers to find innovative end to end solutions for any segment. The deal is also expected to be immediately accretive to Semtech’s non-GAAP EPS before synergies and generate US$40 million of run-rate operational synergies within 12-18 months post-transaction close.

This acquisition brings together two important technologies for the future of IoT – LoRa and cellular – to enable the digitization of the industrial world with a comprehensive chip-to-Cloud platform. Semtech expects the combination of Sierra Wireless’ cellular capabilities across its modules, gateways and managed connectivity together with Semtech’s LoRa-enabled end nodes to create a uniquely differentiated IoT portfolio which will enable a plethora of new IoT use cases to be conceived. In addition, the combination of Sierra Wireless’ Cloud services offerings and Semtech’s LoRa Cloud™ services will bring together a future Cloud services portfolio offering that will include enhanced security, provisioning, device management, and geolocation capabilities for power optimized IoT applications. This new Cloud services capability is expected to add greater than US$100 million of high-margin IoT Cloud services recurring revenues immediately.

“We believe the next era of technology growth is the full digitization of our industrial world – the Internet of Everything. Our vision is to build a simple, horizontal platform with the goal of accelerating this transformation and to bring about a smarter and more sustainable planet,” said Semtech president and chief executive officer, Mohan Maheswaran. “This exciting strategic acquisition of Sierra Wireless is a critical part of bringing this vision to life through the combination of cellular, LoRa and Cloud services. Together, with the world-class Sierra Wireless engineering team, we will be positioned to advance the market with multi-radio solutions that bring new chip-to-Cloud services to support customers and grow our business.”

“Over the last year, Sierra Wireless has taken decisive steps to profitably grow the business, and I am proud that the progress we have made has culminated in this exciting transaction. Together with Semtech, we will be able to extend the reach of IoT solutions by scaling, optimizing and ultimately delivering an even stronger product portfolio and service model to customers,” said Phil Brace, president and chief executive officer of Sierra Wireless. “Sierra Wireless is a high growth business with some of the best, most advanced IoT technology in the industry, and we are pleased to deliver immediate and compelling value to our shareholders through this transaction. Joining Semtech will also allow us to bring cellular and LoRa technology together to create innovative solutions that exceed the expectations of our customers around the world while delivering exciting career opportunities to our talented employees as part of the combined company.”

Sierra Wireless brings highly complementary skills and capabilities to Semtech, including Sierra Wireless’ leading modules, gateways, 5G, and Cloud services. Given Sierra Wireless’ demonstrated expertise in IoT and cellular engineering, software and services, and its extensive knowledge of IoT channels and vertical markets, Semtech expects the combined company will be well positioned to serve high growth segments such as:

  • Supply chain, logistics and asset management
  • Utilities, including water, gas and electric metering
  • Smart cities and building, including air quality monitoring and public safety
  • Smart agriculture and species protection

Transaction Details

Under the terms of the agreement, Sierra Wireless shareholders will receive US$31 per common share. This represents a premium of approximately 25% to the closing price of Sierra Wireless’ common stock on July 29, 2022, the last trading day prior to media speculation regarding a potential transaction, and a premium of approximately 30% to Sierra Wireless’ unaffected 30-day volume weighted average price. Semtech intends to fund the transaction with cash on hand and committed debt financing arranged by J.P. Morgan.

This transaction has been approved by the Semtech and Sierra Wireless Boards of Directors. This transaction is subject to approval by Sierra Wireless shareholders, certain regulatory bodies and the Supreme Court of British Columbia, and other customary closing conditions. This transaction is expected to close in Semtech’s fiscal year 2023. Until close, the parties remain separate independent companies.

Sierra Wireless Preliminary Financial Results

In a separate press release issued yesterday, Sierra Wireless announced preliminary details relating to certain of its financial results for its second quarter of 2022. Sierra Wireless will issue a press release to share its full second quarter financial results after the market closes Aug. 11, 2022. The Sierra Wireless preliminary results press release is available on its website.

In light of the pending transaction, Sierra Wireless is canceling its second quarter financial results conference call previously scheduled for Aug. 11, 2022.

Semtech Conference Call

Semtech hosted a conference call for the financial community yesterday to discuss the acquisition. A replay of the webcast is available on the events calendar on Semtech’s investor website.

Advisers

J.P. Morgan Securities LLC is serving as the exclusive financial adviser to Semtech. O’Melveny & Myers LLP is serving as its U.S. legal counsel and Stikeman Elliott LLP is its Canadian legal counsel.

Qatalyst Partners and BMO Capital Markets are serving as financial advisers to Sierra Wireless. Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP is serving as its U.S. legal counsel and Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP is its Canadian legal counsel.

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How Can We Improve Cellular 5G at Sea?

Have you ever been out at sea and found yourself with weak or no cellular signal? Or maybe you’ve just avoided cellular altogether and paid for expensive satellite service? Well, with 5G technology, we may see a change. JET Engineering, out of Cedar Rapids Iowa, is working on a way to make 5G service accessible offshore. 

Their System Solutions department has deployed a floating 5G base station off the UK coast of Dorset. The base station is mounted on a buoy they’ve named JET-4 Babel. Its job is to transmit coverage for devices to connect to and extend the distance from the shore that a 5G signal can be accessed. 

The JET team demonstrated the buoy’s connectivity by establishing a 5G connection between it and JET-3 Arial, a buoyant underwater camera, for real-time live streaming. The network is expected to be able to extend for miles offshore while providing high-bandwidth and high-speed delivery.

“This signifies a great technology milestone for JET, having taken the buoy-to-buoy wireless communications from the lab to the ocean,” said James Thomas, CEO of JET Engineering. “But more importantly we have unlocked a whole host of possibilities for users and service providers to save costs, improve efficiencies, and make their everyday work easier.

JET also plans on providing a platform for data collection and live streaming to users. This would be either as raw data or through a user-friendly dashboard. They’re receiving assistance from the Offshore Wind Growth Partnership (OWGP) and the Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult’s Launch Academy. These groups helped with the technology loaded onto Babel as well as overall funding for this project.

Claire Canning, OWGP program manager, said, “We are thrilled to be working with JET and supporting this game-changing project. Not only will this drive a step-change in growth for the company, but 5G connectivity at sea will completely transform offshore wind operations, improving both efficiency and operator safety.”

Additional funding came from DCMS via the 5G RuralDorset project. They had also contributed to the previous deployment of the Arial buoy. Research was previously conducted by 5G RuralDorset. They found that 5G was necessary to provide essential safety, environmental, and efficiency considerations. Especially for those living in isolated areas and in off-shore settings.

“It’s great to see the concept of 5G at sea become a reality and we’re proud to have worked closely with JET to get the buoys to this important milestone,” said Councillor Jill Haynes, cabinet member for Corporate Development and Transformation for Dorset Council. “5G connectivity will play an important role in ensuring safety at sea, as well as presenting unique commercial opportunities for all parties.”

More unique ways of using and deploying 5G networks have been showing up recently. Last month, AT&T introduced a drone that transmits 5G network service, which they called the Flying COW. Like the JET-4 Babel, the Flying COW is helping to bring 5G to the more remote and rural locations. These are also used to provide temporary connections during big events, such as the Super Bowl or natural disasters.

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When Will There Be More 5G Coverage?

More announcements of 5G expansions are coming in from carriers this week. We already heard about Verizon and their C-Band and now news is coming from AT&T about their mid-band spectrum. T-Mobile is even adding more coverage in California for its 5G Home Internet services.  

AT&T 5G is now covering 70 million people. In January they said they planned to cover 200 million people with its various mid-band spectrum positions by the end of 2023.

For T-Mobile, they’re covering over six million homes throughout the state of California with their recent expansion. The reason for this concentration in California is because so many homes there are still without access to reliable broadband service. 

“Broadband customers are stuck – millions of families across the country still have little to no choice when it comes to home internet. For decades, customers have been stuck with terrible customer service, price hikes and surprise fees from their internet providers,” said Mike Katz, Chief Marketing Officer at T-Mobile. “Today, we’re taking another step to change that, increasing access to T-Mobile Home Internet throughout California. With the Un-carrier, residents across the Golden State can get reliable, affordable home broadband without all the traditional ISP BS. That’s why more than a million customers nationwide have already switched to T-Mobile Home Internet.”

T-Mobile says that more than 40 million households are eligible for 5G Home Internet. Availability is based on network capacity, which is increasing all the time. Check if T-Mobile Home Internet is available for your home at https://www.t-mobile.com/isp

AT&T said it is six months ahead of schedule on mid-band 5G deployment. Now they expect to cover nearly 100 million people by the end of the year with this spectrum. 

On the broadband front, AT&T Fiber added 316,000 subscribers. The carrier added 289,000 subscribers last quarter and touts that this is the 10th straight quarter adding more than 200,000 net subscribers. As with its efforts on 5G, the carrier has been working to improve its fiber network and has begun upgrading its network to offer multigigabit connections. 

All carriers seem hopeful that their expansions will hang on to existing customers and pull in more from their competitors. Be sure to compare data plans and fine print before you commit to anything! With recent tests done by third parties like OpenSignal, T-Mobile is still at the forefront. However, only time will tell who will come out on top by the end of the year.

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What Does More C-Band Mean to Verizon Customers?

Despite what T-Mobile says about their own 5G network, Verizon continues to call its 5G Ultra Wideband, “the nation’s most reliable 5G network.” It may become more reliable now. Verizon has gained headway in their efforts by deploying more C-Band spectrum. It’s now using 100MHz in many US markets. This is almost double what they had been working with prior to this point. 

With more spectrum in use, customers should see significantly higher speeds. The cell towers will also be able to handle a much greater capacity to accommodate more devices and more robust services. It even opens up Verizon’s 5G Home broadband and Business Internet services to more customers. 

“This increase from using 60MHz to 100 MHz of C-band – which we will ultimately have available in many markets across the US  – allows us to support more network traffic, deliver even better performance to our customers and add new products and services on top of the mobile and fixed wireless access solutions we provide today,” said Kyle Malady, EVP and President, Global Networks and Technology.  “Reaching new levels of innovation and digital transformation in our society requires a fundamental transformation of the networks our world runs on. The continued evolution of our network is paving the way for this tremendous growth.”

Verizon started by running trials. Engineers achieved download speeds up to 1.4 Gbps near active cell sites. At distances further from the towers (distance not specified), they got up to 500 Mbps.  Once agreements with satellite providers cleared C-Band spectrum, they were finally able to make it available months earlier than expected (it was originally scheduled to be cleared in December 2023).  

This is only the start of customers gaining access to more spectrum. More spectrum should be cleared in the coming months and years. Verizon expects that customers will have access to between 140-200 MHz of C-Band spectrum across the nation.

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5Gstore / Peplink Service Automation

All router manufacturers offer or require yearly service/subscriptions and/ or special service add-ons that need to be renewed. This is a tedious process not only for the end-user (customer) but also for the reseller and the manufacturer as well.  Here is how it works now.  Place an online order for a service item.  The reseller gets it and has to create a purchase order and manually submit an order to the manufacturer.  The manufacturer gets the order and has to manually process it.  Typically, this takes less than 24 hours but could take longer.

Sometimes, you are in a bind and need to purchase/update your router (or fleet of routers). NOW, you cannot wait 24 hours (or more if on the weekend).  What happens if something expires Saturday at midnight?  You have to wait until Monday for the order to first be processed. 

5Gstore and Peplink have partnered to automate and speed up this process.  When placing an order for any service item at 5Gstore, we have worked with Peplink to create a robust API.  When you place any service order, 24/7, your order will be processed and fulfilled in MINUTES.  All automatically – we will even check your order to make sure you don’t mix up serial numbers.  We can process 10 or 100,000 orders a day and it will be automatic.  This is what the new process looks like:

If your warranty has expired and you need Incontrol2 access at 11pm or on a Sunday, just place your order with 5Gstore for instant processing.  It doesn’t matter where you ordered your Peplink device, we can help you 24/7!!  During checkout, you are required to enter the S/N of your Peplink device, our system verifies that your service item is compatible with your device.  If you have a bunch of devices that you need to order, you can export your S/Ns and directly import them during the checkout process.

How To Find your Peplink Serial Number (S/N)

Peplink is adding more “Feature Packs” to convert a low-end SKU to have more features and make them equivalent to older higher-end SKUs.  With this upcoming change, 5Gstore will be able to add any Feature Pack that is on your order as it is shipped (or instantly as you needs change).

Lastly, we have simplified the complicated when it comes to ordering service items.  Just enter your Peplink S/N in our search box and we will display all the service items specifically available for your S/N (this works for all Peplink S/Ns).

Just another way, 5Gstore helps you stay connected! 

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What Alternatives Can Be Used to Expand 5G Coverage

Qualcomm Technologies, Ericsson and French aerospace company Thales announced this week that they would be starting work together. Their intention is to make 5G connections available everywhere through the use of space. The partnership formed within months of 3GPP having been approved for satellite-driven 5G Non-Terrestrial Networks (5G NTNs). This global effort will be accomplished through the use of combined satellite and terrestrial connectivity.

“For 5G to fulfill the promise of ubiquitous connectivity, it is imperative that it can also deliver network coverage in areas where terrestrial cellular networks do not exist, whether that be over oceans or in remote areas,” said John Smee, senior vice president of engineering at Qualcomm. “Our planned research with Ericsson and Thales will kick off an important step in making this vital technology a reality. We are looking forward to what this collaboration can accomplish.”

The goal of the three companies is to assist with global network coverage, including in areas that currently do not have terrestrial network capabilities. They’ll use a low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite, which will allow coverage to be expanded to areas previously not able to receive service. This includes extreme terrain, as well as across seas and oceans. Additionally, the group is hoping that in the event of an emergency, satellite connectivity could be used in place of or as a backup to terrestrial networks.

“This testing and validation cooperation between Ericsson, Thales and Qualcomm Technologies will be a major milestone in the history of communications,” said Erik Ekudden, senior vice president and chief technology officer at Ericsson. “The ultimate result could effectively mean that no matter where you are on Earth – in the middle of an ocean or the remotest forest – high-end, secure and cost-effective connectivity will be available through collaborative 5G satellite and terrestrial connectivity.”

Smartphone focused testing is in the works in an emulated space environment in France. Validation of 5G NTN began with 3GPP’s announcement back in March. The tests are designed to allow the teams to discover what components are needed to enable 5G connectivity between smartphones, satellites and terrestrial 5G network segments. Ideally, they will ensure that 5G NTN can be supported through use of a network-enabled smartphone.

Each company has its own role to play. Qualcomm is providing the smartphones that will verify if 5G NTN can be accessed by 5G enabled devices. Ericsson will work with part of the testing phase and will handle the 5G virtual RAN stack that has been altered to handle radio waves through quick moving satellites. Thales’ responsibility will be to verify that the payload will be able to be distributed by the satellites themselves. 

“The deployment of 5G networks marks a step change for the telecoms industry. It is a game changer, not only in terms of business opportunities but also in the skills required to connect and protect billions of people and things,” said Philippe Keryer, executive vice president of strategy, research and technology at Thales. “Thales is deeply involved in it through the different activities of the Group. The research collaboration with Ericsson and Qualcomm Technologies will demonstrate the belief of our companies that 5G non-terrestrial networks will contribute to this revolution and will take network resiliency and security to the next level.”

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What Frequency Bands Does 5G Use?

If you’re in the market for a 5G cellular modem or router, you may want to consider its supported frequency bands. There are three types of 5G. Sub-6 (also called FR1) refers to low band frequencies below 6GHz, and mmWave (also called FR2) refers to frequencies over 24GHz. You also have mid band, or the C-band, which covers 4GHz to 8GHz. However, carriers are more focused on the range of 3.7 to 4.2GHz.

When 5G was initially rolled out, it used Sub-6 5G that stayed mainly below the 2GHz range. These frequencies were already used by 4G/LTE and even older 3G networks, so carriers had the necessary licenses to use them. This made it quick and easy for AT&T and T-Mobile to roll out 5G on top of their existing networks.

To this day, the most widely available 5G service in the U.S. is running on low band frequencies. Not only because it was the first service available, but because it covers the most distance. The downside is that in a lot of cases, the connection is only as good as LTE. 

C-band is the next best for 5G. While the distance it covers is not as much as Sub-6, it does offer a better 5G experience. In comparison, mmWave runs off the higher frequencies so it does not travel as far. This however, is the truest version of 5G with its significantly faster speeds, lower latency, and high reliability. 

Here’s a breakdown of the bands to look out for in the device specifications:

Sub-6/ 5G NR: n1, n2, n3, n5, n7, n12, n20, n25, n28, n38, n40, n41, n46, n48, n66, n71, n77, n78, n79, n83

C-band: n77, n78, n79

mmWave: n257, n258, n259, n260, n261

Due to its availability, a majority of the 5G products we carry will only support Sub-6/ NR (New Radio) bands. There are a handful that will also support all C-band frequencies. To check those out, see below.

Should you be lucky enough to have mmWave coverage in your location, stay tuned for the Cradlepoint W4005. 

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What is the Current 5G Experience in the U.S?

Over the course of 3 months (Mar 16 – Jun 13, 2022), OpenSignal gathered 5G data points from each of the major U.S. cellular carriers – Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile. This data was put into a report they call the 5G Experience Report, and it was just released. Big surprise…it shows T-Mobile as the winner in most categories. Check out the overall results below.

Taking a closer look, each category was analyzed at the national and regional levels. T-Mobile won with Download speeds over 98Mbps faster than Verizon and AT&T. Overall, the total was 171Mbps. This is T-Mobile’s sixth win in a row. The Upload speed tests were a bit closer, with only a 3Mbps difference between T-Mobile and Verizon. T-Mobile’s total was 17.8Mbps, and again, this was their sixth time in a row to win this category. Verizon and AT&T customers may still want to be hopeful though. They are the only two carriers that are using C-Band deployments. As these deployments increase, we suspect these reports may change. Still, T-Mobile has quite a lead.

Not only do T-Mobile customers receive the best overall speeds, but they can also access them in more places than other carriers’ networks. OpenSignal confirms this by awarding T-Mobile with the best 5G Reach. The report also confirms that T-Mobile has the best 5G Availability. It shows that T-Mobile customers were connected to 5G 2 times more often than AT&T customers, and over 3 times more often than Verizon customers.

With regards to testing 5G Games experience and Voice App experience, the point scale was 0 to 100. This is where Verizon won out against the others, but all were within a small margin. 

According to OpenSignal, “a good Games experience means that the gameplay experience was generally controllable and users received immediate feedback between their actions and the outcomes in the game. Most users did not experience a delay between their actions and the game.”

You may also be wondering what qualifies a good 5G Voice App Experience too. These tests “quantify the experience of Opensignal users when using over-the-top voice apps — such as WhatsApp, Skype and Facebook Messenger — on an operator’s 5G network. It uses a model derived from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) approach for quantifying overall voice call quality and a series of calibrated technical parameters. This model characterizes the exact relationship between the technical measurements and perceived call quality.”

Want to know more about OpenSignal’s metrics and what they mean? Check out their article here.

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How Many 5G Devices Were Certified in 2021?

The Global Certification Forum (GCF) tests, certifies, and connects mobile and IoT products to networks and services. Each year, they publish a Mobile Device Trends report. Its recent report highlights the quick moving migration to 5G, with over 30% of all devices in 2021 integrating the technology. 

GCF has over 150 device manufacturers, located across 25 countries, that are currently working with their team. The analysis of GCF certifications – which are recognized by network operators with interests in global markets – provides insights into the mobile technologies and functionalities being requested by operators and end users across markets worldwide.

Information gathered shows that there has been an increase in support for 5G standalone (SA) operation – nearly 90% of 5G devices. However, even though the initial rollout had surpassed LTE in terms of its proportion of all devices, 5G has fallen behind in the third year of its deployment.

In 2021, GCF certified 609 device models from 89 manufacturers. This was up 18% from the 75 in 2020, but the number of certified devices dropped nearly 15% from the previous year.

It’s possible that this decline could be partly due to the continuing shift towards 5G. In 2020, many smartphones were produced (and certified) in separate 4G and 5G model variants. Compare that to 2021, where more models came in a single 5G version. Then there’s the worldwide chip shortage, which caused problems across many industries.

The integration of 5G into devices has continued to increase rapidly. However, after an initial burst in 2020, the proportion of new devices incorporating 5G has fallen behind the level for LTE. In 2021, the percentage of all devices certified with integrated 5G went up from 21% in 2020, to 31%. Among these, there was a significant jump in the proportion supporting 5G SA operation. 65% of the 5G devices certified in 2021 (123 of 189) supported 5G SA, up from 34% in 2020. This rate continues to grow and, in 2022 year-to-date, the proportion of 5G devices supporting 5G SA is 88%.

Smartphones remained the largest category of device in 2021 (43%) with modules in second place at nearly 30%. The third largest category in 2021 was WLAN routers, which made up 8% of devices certified. This was a considerable jump from 2020 and was largely due to operators supporting fixed 5G wireless access on their 5G networks, which drove up the demand for WLAN routers.

Currently, there’s still only a handful of 5G modules and WLAN routers available. We have slowly been seeing and hearing about more to come, such as the Pepwave MAX BR2 Pro 5G. For now, be sure to check out the 5G products you can get in your hands on tomorrow, including:

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When Can I Get the New Pepwave MAX BR1 Mini HW3?

With the release of the new Pepwave MAX BR1 Mini Hardware Revision 3 (HW3) comes faster speeds and an improved overall throughput than the previous HW2 version. Peplink is also introducing a feature pack that users have the option to add on. This pack enables you to use the Ethernet WAN, WiFi WAN, Hot Failover, WAN Smoothing, GPIO, and Ignition Sensing on your BR1 Mini HW3.

Even without the feature pack, you still get a single cellular LTE modem (Cat 4 or Cat 7 models) that accepts up to 2 SIM cards for failover purposes (i.e. only one SIM can connect at a time). The modem is compatible with AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon as well as other carriers including carriers outside of the U.S. (we recommend checking frequency compatibility when needing an International solution). 

You also now have access to 3 x Gigabit Ethernet ports along with upgraded WiFi. With WiFi 5, the router supports concurrent dual-band mode. Now clients can dedicate the 2.4 GHz band for basic needs, while the 5 GHz band is used for bandwidth-demanding applications. 

This newer generation BR1 Mini has a Micro-Fit industrial power connector, making it more secure than the previous coaxial power connector. Alternatively, for those who want power over Ethernet, you now have active 802.3at PoE support rather than passive PoE. 

In addition to the feature pack, customers have the option to bundle services. Just purchase a 2 year or 4 year PrimeCare plan, and you will receive a complimentary feature pack. 

In the future, this unit will also support Peplink’s eSIM. For more information about this, check out SpeedFusion Connect LTE details here. 

Cat 4 LTE models of the new BR1 Mini HW3 are available now! Just get your order in before 3pm CT and your order can ship today.

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