The Platforms for Advanced Wireless Research (PAWR) program – co-led by US Ignite and Northeastern University – is supported by funding from both the National Science Foundation and our many Industry Consortium partners. These industry partners contribute equipment, software, money, and expertise, and as their numbers balloon, we are shining a spotlight on how and why they’ve decided to participate in the PAWR program.
Today’s featured partner is Polaris Networks.
Polaris Networks Q&A
How is Polaris Networks connected to the development of new wireless technologies?
Polaris Networks is exclusively focused on developing 4G and 5G related software. We have offered 4G software for over 10 years (since the beginning of LTE) in two forms: 1) Test and measurement software to emulate an LTE Evolved Packet Core (EPC), LTE UEs or LTE eNodeBs (base stations) and, 2) Deployable LTE EPC targeted at commercial private LTE networks and R&D organizations. We began development of our 5G offerings nearly 3 years ago and had first customer ship in January 2019. For 5G we offer emulators for a 5G core, 5G UE and 5G gNodeBs (base stations) as well as a deployable 5G core.
As part of our agreement with PAWR we will provide any of our 4G or 5G software mentioned above to any researcher or testbed that can utilize the capabilities.
What has interested Polaris about the PAWR program?
Polaris Networks has a long history of working with government and corporate research organizations around the world, so the NSF funded PAWR project was a natural fit for us. Because we provide 4G and 5G test software we must stay ahead of the curve in terms of implementing the latest 3GPP defined standards; this is why we began 5G development nearly 3 years ago when most people had never heard of 5G. As a result, organizations that are performing experimental and groundbreaking research can greatly benefit from our offerings. We believe PAWR fits that definition and thus we have whole heartedly embraced the PAWR mission.
What near-term opportunities exist for Polaris and the wireless industry as a whole in connection with the PAWR research testbeds?
We believe the recently announced AERPAW (Aerial Experimentation and Research Platform for Advanced Wireless) initiative in Raleigh, North Carolina could be a strong showcase for various Polaris offerings including our 4G and 5G core software. We look forward to collaborating with the AERPAW team as they define the details of this platform over the coming months.