Airvana unveils convergence gateway

Airvana today moved from the base station to the core of the network, announcing a new multi-access convergence gateway that is a far cry from the CDMA 1X EV-DO radio technologies on which it has focused to date.

Called the Universal Access Gateway, the network edge platform promises to extend cellular network services from the carrier’s network to any IP-based connection creating several possible convergence scenarios. “Carriers can separate their services from the network itself,” said Leigh Chinitz, director marketing and business development at Airvana.

The gateway will serve as a link between cellular networks and obvious convergence targets like Wi-Fi, but Chinitz said there is potential for other access technologies: Bluetooth, WiMAX and even cellular networks of different standards. So long as the service is IP-based like VoIP, e-mail or video downloads, the gateway will pass the data between two seemingly disparate networks assuming the handset can access both of them, Chinitz said.

The product itself, however, is definitely a new direction for Airvana, which built its reputation supplying EV-DO base stations and technology for OEM and partners and directly to carriers. While moving from the radio access network to the core is definitely a new strategy for Airvana, the underlying technology is very similar, Chinitz said. By focusing on EV-DO, an all-data technology, Airvana has essentially focused on IP networking, which is the core technology of its new gateway. Airvana is just moving that expertise from the base station to other parts of the network, Chinitz said.

“It’s an opportunity to get new customers other than our traditional operator base,” Chinitz said.