SpiderCloud Wireless has rolled out a new type of small cell that works across all major U.S. LTE bands. Dubbed the Frequency Agile small cell, the SCRN-220 is an enterprise-grade LTE small cell that can be software configured for 700 MHz to 2.1 Ghz spectrum in Bands 2, 25, 4, 66, 12, and 13. The cell supports channel widths of 5, 10, 15, and 20 MHz, SpiderCloud indicated.

Several Tier-1 U.S. operators are currently evaluating the SCRN-220 for inclusion in their Enterprise RAN strategies, SpiderCloud execs said.

The SCRN-220 was reportedly developed to meet the market demands of operators, enterprises, and third party providers for a frequency agile LTE small cell. It is based on SpiderCloud’s E-RAN architecture, which includes a Services Node controlling up to 100 self-organizing LTE small cells, capable of delivering coverage and capacity in indoor locations as large as 1.5 million square feet. That coverage comes from a power level four times that of typical DAS radio heads, the company said.

The device will be commercially available in the third quarter of 2017.

AT&T announced that Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has awarded it a five-year, $119 million contract to help the CDC reduce costs and modernize communications on its campus.

The fully managed solution AT&T is providing will support the entirety of CDC’s workforce, including hundreds of thousands CDC employees and contractors nationwide as well as in Puerto Rico. The solution delivers connectivity and also lays a path for CDC to eventually integrate “smart city” types of capabilities – for example, to create a “smart campus” where network-connected sensors deliver information in near real-time to help support campus infrastructure, utilities, and safety.

The task order includes a seven-month base period and four optional years. It is awarded through GSA’s government-wide acquisition contract called “Connections II.” 

TM Forum this week launched a new Open API Training and Career Certification program as well as an Open API Conformance Certification program.

TM Forum said its Open API Training & Career Certification program encompasses expert-led training courses including a fundamentals course and a more detailed practitioners’ course. The fundamentals course introduces the key concepts of Open APIs and provides examples of how they are used in real-world scenarios, how they are structured, and how they relate to TM Forum Frameworx so that they can be readily adopted and deployed. The practitioners’ course provides students with the opportunity to practice using and extending TM Forum Open API patterns as well as techniques used when implementing the APIs. Additionally, there are four new career certifications as a result of these new training courses: TM Forum Platform Development Manager, TM Forum Open API Developer, TM Forum Open APO and Data Model Architect, and TM Forum Platform Architect.

The association’s Open API Conformance Certification program has also been launched in a beta trial. The program includes a new self-validation portal where TM Forum members can access conformance test kits. The kits allow users to create an efficient report clearly outlining where alignment to the TM Forum Open API conformance specification exists and where improvements are required. The conformance test kits to enable this capability have been collaboratively created by TM Forum members including Amdocs, BT, Etiya, Huawei, Infonova/BearingPoint, Infosys, Telefónica, and Vodafone.

TM Forum has also launched a new Digital Maturity Model designed to help communications service providers assess their digital maturity and plan their digital transformations across their entire organization.

TM Forum’s DMM considers maturity across five key dimensions, each containing an extensive set of sub-dimensions, questions and metrics to assess digital maturity across the business. Accessed through an app, TM Forum members can assess their digital maturity across every department and rapidly identify areas for action unique to their businesses. The dimensions and definitions for the model are: Customer, Strategy, Technology, Operations, and Culture.

“Successful digital transformation requires the direct involvement and support of the CEO for a process that’s going to impact the whole organization,” TM Forum Chairman David Pleasance commented. “Through the exceptional collaborative work of many TM Forum members, the Digital Maturity Model allows service providers to assess all dimensions and departments of their organization through a structured approach that is unique to them. Without industry-agreed best practices and guidelines, real transformation becomes all the more challenging.”

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