Celona enters China through partnership with CBN and Xingtera
The startup has already expanded to America, Europe, Southeast Asia and the Middle East
Analysts say China could become a huge market for Celona
Startup Celona is starting to offer private networks in China, the company’s founder and CEO Rajeev Singh recently told Fierce.
The company began operations in February 2019, offering 4G LTE and 5G private networks using the Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) mid-band 3.5 GHz spectrum in the United States. Singh said the company has expanded into other parts of the world in recent years. The CEO said Celona has operations in Latin America, the Middle East, particularly Saudi Arabia, Southeast Asia and Europe. The company also said it plans to start operations in Japan, including by introducing a proof of concept (POC).
“China is really the last frontier for us,” Singh said.
If you’re a regular reader of Fierce Network, you know that vendors offering private networks in China must work with domestic carriers to access 5G spectrum available to vendors and business customers. According to the CEO, Celona is working with state-owned 5G operator China Broadcasting Network (CBN) to gain access to mid-band spectrum in China.
“This is very important, not just for us, but for the industry as a whole,” Singh said. He added that CBN will also act as a local professional service for the deployment of Celona’s private network in China. Celona is also working with Xingtera as a local sales channel in China.
China is truly our final frontier.
Rajeev Singh, Celona CEO
Shin explained that Celona will start by serving customers in the United States and Europe that have manufacturing facilities in China. The CEO said that many of the company’s existing customers want to use Celona equipment across their American, European and Chinese deployments.
“There are well-known global pharmaceutical brands that want us in China. That’s one of the demands that drove us here,” as well as several separate manufacturing operations. Mr. Shin said.
presence of clouds
The CEO also pointed out that Celona needs to deploy its cloud within China in order to meet local regulations. Many countries and regions, from the European Union to Saudi Arabia, have recently enacted rules regarding cloud data residency, and China is by no means alone.
“Following initial market entries in the UK, Germany, Saudi Arabia and Southeast Asia, Serona’s expansion into China, currently the largest domestic market for private 5G networks, undoubtedly opens up significant opportunities for revenue growth. It will solidify Serona’s position as a ‘leading global player in private 5G solutions,’ said Asad Khan, analyst at SNS Telecom & IT.
Khan pointed out that Celona’s operator partner, CBN, is already using spectrum for private networks despite being the smallest public operator. “The new players’ 700 MHz and 4.9 GHz spectrum assets are being utilized in many private 5G network installations, sometimes in collaboration with other carriers,” Khan said.
Mining private 5G use cases
“For example, the private 5G network at Daheize Coal Mine in Yulin City, Shaanxi Province uses a combination of CBN’s 700MHz and China Mobile’s 2.6GHz frequencies to provide high bandwidth, low latency, and It offers reliable wireless connectivity,” the analyst said. said in an email to Fierce.
Khan and AvidThink Principal Analyst Roy Chua both noted that Celona initially grew thanks to CBRS shared spectrum access in the US and how that has been leveraged for private networks. . “In China, with only a few exceptions, only carriers have spectrum licenses. Therefore, most private networks in the United States are tied to carriers, but U.S. companies do not use CBRS. and operate the network independently from carriers,” said Chua.
He noted that China’s move “should create further revenue opportunities for Celona” since China currently has the largest private network, at least according to estimates by China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT).
