EdgeQ, a 5G systems-on-a-chip company, on Tuesday introduced what it claims is industry’s first 5G chipset-as-a-service model, offering customers a future proof platform that can scale 5G and AI features as a function of subscription payments.
This new service model is the very first in the chip industry to scale price, performance, and features as a function of need and use. With 5G expected to address a rich cross section of end points, ranging from consumer smartphones to industrial 4.0 automation to V2X communications to radio and distributed unit base stations, the traditional silicon approach of a highly leveraged, single priced design for all markets is no longer viable.
Customers look to a subscription-based model with different service tiering to mirror need and use. A service-oriented model provides customers the freedom to scale from nominal to advanced 5G features such as ultra-reliable low latency communications, geo-location services, massive MIMO, fine-grained network slicing, as well as extending compatibility to other legacy wireless protocols. By uniquely coupling EdgeQ’s software-driven base station-on-a-chip technology with a chipset-as-a-service model, customers can now focus on a virtualized 5G deployment model where feature attributes can be turned on and off via software. EdgeQ’s unique combination of an elastic chip architecture and a softwarized RAN stack allows customers to only pay for features that map to their real needs.
By offering chipset-as-a-service, EdgeQ elevates 5G Open RAN (O-RAN) to an even more configurable, elastic, open wireless infrastructure. Enterprise network, telco, and cloud providers can use EdgeQ to virtualize network resources, allowing elastic scaling of 5G services on demand. Customers can pace their needs and demands via tiered subscription packages, thereby minimizing massive upfront capex of fully burdened hardware. Network providers can instantaneously provision finely tuned services (such as massive MIMO or Ultra-Reliable Low Latency Communications) and incorporate a matching pricing model based on use and value. EdgeQ’s ORAN compliant 5G platform allows dynamic reconfiguration and future scale without the need to rip and replace field-deployed systems. And customers can now access a more intelligent, elastic, services-driven physical layer.
Vinay Ravuri, CEO and Founder, EdgeQ
Our vision at EdgeQ has always been about implementing 5G in a format that is accessible, consumable, and intuitive for our customers. EdgeQ is not only the first company to converge both 5G and AI on a single chip for wireless infrastructure, but we are also able to make those capabilities available in a SaaS model.
