JMA announced completion of the final design phase of its 5G millimeter-wave product, specifically designed for in-building, enterprise and factory applications.
This end to end platform, powered by the XRAN all software baseband and Phazr IOTA radio, was developed in cooperation between R&D centers located in Castel San Pietro Terme, Bologna, Italy and Dallas, Texas. This considerable milestone paves the way for formal testing with mobile operators that have acquired millimeter wave spectrum.
JMA’s 5G in-building focused solution has been designed to meet the stringent quality and reliability requirements critical to complex millimeter wave deployment scenarios, and is composed of two elements:
The XRAN baseband, running a 100% software based 4G stack on top of commercial Intel-based servers. The platform is currently live in multiple Tier 1 networks globally with development lead by JMAs R&D department at Castel San Pietro Terme;
The Phazr IOTA 5G millimeter-wave radio, developed by the JMA team based in the United States, also using a control component based on Intel® architecture.
The announcement was made during a 5G focused event on July 11 in Castel San Pietro Terme, Bologna Italy, organized by JMA in collaboration with the Art-ER Agency and the Emilia Romagna Region. The event was attended by members of the press, local technology partners, mobile operators, and government officials Stefano Bonaccini, President of the Emilia Romagna Region, and the US Consul General Benjamin V. Wohlauer.
JMA acquired Phazr, a pioneer of millimeter wave technology, in December 2018. This development milestone unites two groundbreaking platforms into a single end to end solution, providing an in-building solution not available to date due to the size and scale required to support millimeter wave technology.
An important element of the development process was JMA’s ongoing collaboration with Intel, the local carrier community as well as local system integrators, understanding each of their unique challenges.
JMA has been active in the Intel Network Builders program since 2018. The XRAN platform is the only 100% LTE software based platform that runs on commercial Intel processors using x86 architecture. The 5G solution presented includes a radio component using Intel technology, including Intel® Xeon® and Intel® PAC N3000 FPGA. Pat Mead, FPGA Sales Director in the Network and Custom Logic Group at Intel, attended the event as speaker.
Telecom Italia was among the carriers represented. Elisabetta Romano, Chief Technology and Innovation Officer at TIM, commented: “5G, which TIM has already launched with macro coverage in Turin, Rome and Naples and will soon be available in other major Italian cities, marking a radical change in the way in which wireless technology enters our personal and work life. JMA is one of our established technology partners, and we are looking forward to seeing their 5G in-building solution in our Turin lab.”
Remo Ricci, Managing Director of JMA Teko concluded the evening: “I am excited and honored to have had the opportunity to present our 5G solution in the presence of guests so important to us: from the Region that supported our development projects to our partners who believed in us and continue to support and trust our development capabilities.”