Corning’s latest 5G radio equipment combines DAS and small-cell capability

The latest indoor cellular hardware from Corning – the Everon 5G enterprise radio access network – is designed to provide for both public cellular coverage and private networking connectivity in large, high-density environments.

The Everon device, announced last week, combines a distributed antenna system (DAS) with the benefits of small cell RAN, allowing customers to work with multiple cell carriers at the same time and provide robust service even in large facilities like airports, hospitals and hotels.

Small cell technology, according to Corning market development director Nicholas Scanlon, provides for individual baseband functionality for multiple network operators, while DAS allows for widespread signal propagation across large spaces. “The goal of this announcement is to introduce this breakthrough technology to enterprises … that have historically challenging wireless landscapes and to improve the end-user experience by enabling smoother cellular coverage from multiple operators,” Scanlon said in an emailed statement.

The Everon launch builds on the success of Corning’s Spidercloud division, which has been at the forefront of certain types private cellular networking technology, according to IDC research manager Patrick Filkins.

“There’s really two markets here – dedicated core RAN for high-value services and public networks where people want to be able to connect,” he said. “Not only do you have a dedicated or private network, but you have a public one, too – is there a way to have both?”

DAS systems to spread public cellular connectivity are both a key value-add for many industries and a regulatory requirement in others, like hospitals. What Corning has done here, Filkins said, is essentially repurposing some of the capability from a DAS system to simultaneously provide coverage from multiple networks at once, while enabling key private cellular capabilities, like fiber replacement, backhaul, and so on.

“With this hardware, you could be simplifying your back-end infrastructure, your cabling, power distribution, and so on,” he noted. “It’s a lower footprint than you’d otherwise need.”

Filkins did caution that users should still check with their private cellular providers to ensure all their particular services will work with Corning’s new product. “I don’t want to say it’s unproven, but the market hasn’t adopted this yet, so it’s hard to say how easily this works,” he said.

Corning declined to provide specific pricing details on the Everon 5G RAN device, but did say that prices would scale with a given customer’s needs and feature requirements. It’s currently available for purchase in the North American region only, though the company said that it would receive inquiries from potential global customers.