which will build an expanded fiber network. To enhance wireless connectivity experiences and spectrum capacity for large outdoor venues, Extreme Networks has introduced the Extreme AP5050. It’s a Wi-Fi 6E outdoor access point optimized for deployment across convention centers, hospital and university campuses and large stadiums, among others. In 5G news, Inseego has launched its new MiFi 5G mobile hotspot with Telstra, delivering high-speed 5G broadband combined with Wi-Fi 6 with all-day battery life. In other company news, Verizon has certified Inseego’s 5G fixed wireless access portfolio to include C-Band spectrum connectivity across their network.

5G Americas released its latest research, Understanding 5G and Time Critical Services, to illuminate the role of time-critical networking needs and new technologies to boost efficiency of industrial operations.

Innovation news

Stories of innovation in sectors around the globe rolled in. Rail Baltica and Esri will work together to integrate geographic information system software to provide more sustainable passenger and freight services in central and northern Europe. Esri has also renewed its partnership with the US Department of Commerce’s National Technical Information Service to support infrastructure transformation and updates with access to accurate geographic data.

Semtech, New Zealand’s IoT Ventures, and global connectivity provider Lacuna Space are collaborating to use LoRa devices and LoRaWAN for a Drought Early Warning System based on a network of low-cost rainwater tank and rain monitors to analyze water consumption and rain forecasts in remote New Zealand and South Pacific Island communities.

SES and AXESS Networks are accelerating digital transition of the mining industry with SES’s second-generation medium earth orbit system O3b mPOWER for enhanced connectivity. Together, Nokia and AST SpaceMobile will enable connectivity from space with the launch of the BlueWalker 3 test satellite later this year, kicking off global testing with mobile network operators on six continents. In other satellite innovation news, OneWeb and Intelsat have signed a global distribution partnership agreement to deliver multi-orbit inflight connectivity to airlines around the world. 

Viavi Solutions is supporting 6G academic and industry research worldwide through its new 6G Forward program. The program is designed to provide vital expertise, technology, and funding to promising avenues of research, which may lead to breakthroughs for the next generation of wireless technology. Nokia has launched the Fiber Techzone knowledge hub. Aimed at newcomers to the fiber broadband space, it gives comprehensive guidance about how to plan, fund, build, operate, and monetize a broadband network.

Security news

As cybersecurity defense becomes ever more complex, innovation in security becomes ever more essential. In security news, Fortinet announced FortiCNP, a new built-in-the-cloud offering that correlates security findings from across an organization’s cloud footprint to facilitate friction-free cloud security operations. NEC and Fortinet entered into an agreement to jointly build secure 5G networks for communication service providers, including FortiGate, a hyperscale firewall. NETSCOUT SYSTEMS introduced Arbor Insight, which enhances and extends threat detection, service delivery, and network operator visibility to address the evolving