Airspan Networks Holdings Inc. (NYSE American: MIMO), a provider of ground-breaking, disruptive software and hardware for 5G networks and a pioneer in end-to-end Open RAN solutions, has announced a major deployment milestone of 120 eNodeB base stations in collaboration with NextWave’s ongoing New York Metro Private Network rollout. NextWave, a private network service provider, had recently revealed plans to leverage their Band 41 (2.5 GHz) spectrum capabilities to provide uniquely wide-area private network coverage to offer seamless high-speed mobile networking for mission-critical services.

Today’s milestone represents the continuation of the first phase of NextWave’s “first-of-its-kind” network buildout, with Airspan’s AirHarmony4000 eNodeB units taking a prominent role in providing the 4G LTE component of wide-area coverage to the private network that will reach nearly 15m people later in 2023. The AirHarmony product line’s well-proven capabilities in the Band 41 range, among others, made Airspan a well-suited RAN partner to fully capitalize on NextWave’s valuable 50 MHz of bandwidth.

Airspan draws upon extensive in-depth experience developing RAN systems to address the growing private network market across a variety of use cases, including indoor and outdoor, 5G and combined 4G+5G solutions. NextWave’s New York Metro service is one of the first private networks to prioritize seamless transitions between in-facility 5G coverage and urban 4G+5G transportation channels This will allow private network users to maintain high levels of security and performance, even when they leave their facility, with the added value of this spectrum being supported by popular smartphones and other widely available mobile broadband devices.

According to Henrik Smith-Petersen, Chief Sales & Marketing Officer, Airspan was able to support just that: “Our mature 4G background matches excellently with our ongoing next-gen solutions in 5G. As private networks grow and reach more and more people, we recognize the blend of 4G and 5G solutions that will be required –one of our key ethos, interoperability, seeks to answer that requirement.” NextWave’s upcoming plan to bring similar private network operations to San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia is “further confirmation that hybrid networks will drive connectivity for millions”, he continues, “Airspan is extremely proud to be a part of innovating to bring connectivity to millions of people and applications."

“Airspan is uniquely well-suited to our private network build program,” notes John Dooley, a director at NextWave. “Their ability to efficiently scale from our Phase I build of 120 eNodeBs to a much larger network in multiple markets is especially compelling. As we expand to meet rapidly evolving requirements, the roadmap of new 5G product offerings will ensure that we can offer the best performance and security possible for enterprise and critical infrastructure users.”