Prittle Prattle in conversation with Anil Kempanna, CEO of CIENTRA.
In an era where 5G innovations are rapidly transforming the technological landscape, Anil Kempanna, stands at the forefront of this revolution. CIENTRA’s pioneering work in integrating 5G technology into the Internet of Things (IoT) sector is not just shaping the future of agriculture and mining industries but also aligning with India’s vision for technological advancement.
Can you detail how Cientra’s 5G platform portfolio is uniquely positioned to enhance IoT solutions in Agriculture and Mining industries?
IOTs of Mining and agriculture come with variety of connectivity and authentication mechanism. 5G allows open Core and open RAN where different features of Core like SIM authentication can be used to secure and authenticate the device with SIM control.
In the IoT world, there is a requirement to connect the devices through common platform for interoperability and ease of scalability. 5G innovations is one acceptable common platform where not only mobiles but IoT’s are also connected by the same standard. Many issues and challenges need to be solved to achieve this interoperability and scalability.
How does Cientra’s vision align with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s perspective on India’s role in technological advancements?
We understand that our PM has vision of Lakhs of Villages are connected through Fible/Wifi already under USOF. We are aware that DoT, under Ministry of communication, has USOF scheme to provide communication network across India, extending the reach to remote areas of India. AADI extends the 5G facility with 5G innovations network features and advantages. Goal of our solution also is to build and deploy the 5G-IoT systems, where panchayats are already connected with Fibre and Wifi. The nearby areas will be equipped with solutions of following as the case may be Telemedics, Surveillance System, Power Management, SmartPanchayat, Smart Education, Smart Agriculture.
Cientra proposes to Implement above multiple use cases with 5G innovations nodes connecting different kinds of devices, to be used by the rural population in and around these panchayats.
What are the specific challenges that Cientra aims to address in the digital revolution of India, particularly with the integration of 5G in IoT?
Todays IOT challenges are to provide appropriate connectivity and Universal identity (3GPP e-SIM). IOTs need to get authenticated. They should be legally intercept-able, so that govt can intervene in case of emergency. SIM/eSIM facility provided by cloud/remote to the device and thus we can clearly authenticate to secure the network.
Challenges are many. Most of the IoT’s are not 5G innovations and does not have 5G-Stack and SIM. These can be provided from cloud and devices can become 5G-device. First of all, a very small %tage of land is covered with 5G spectrum. All devices need 5G radio capability. Radio connectivity can be solved if other means of connectivity (wifi, 4G hotspot, LoRa etc) is available and 5G protocols are augmented. Then they become interoperable like 5G innovations devices, and can communicate through gNB. They can reach gNB by IP and such gNB’s can be called as IP-gNB. Devices need 5G eSIM to operate as 5G devices. Remote eSIM method eliminates the need for SIM slot. Cientra 5G IoT Gateway is a combination of an Aggregator to which all IoT’s will connect and a set of remote NAS stack and IP-gNB. Overall, all these challenges are solved with AADI.
Could you share some insights on how Cientra plans to adapt and transition its solutions towards 6G and future technologies?
This solution connects the NR and Non-NR both devices to 5G network and makes 5G features available to all devices seamlessly. NR devices are connected through NR-gNB and Non-NR devices are connected through IP-gNB (AADI of Cientra), after they are converted to 5G devices, by provision of remote 5G virtual stack and eSIM. Thus all devices are connected as 5G ubiquitously.
A non-5G device is enabled to function like a 5G-device. Since it connects to IP-gNB through IP, it Eliminates need of 5G spectrum. Even if No 5G-SIM slot available in device, it is able to work with eSIM situated in cloud. Single eSIM can be allocated to multiple devices, but one at a time and the device-serial-number + eSIM combination becomes the temporary identity.
Since it’s a 3GPP standard 5G platform where all device register and operate, we achieve Multi-Vendor-compatibility. Any IoT device can connect to any operator 5G Core. Standardization enables 5G standard Authentication, Security and Authorization etc
You can start a 5G innovations network with a small investment. IoTs are Connectible with IP beyond geo-boundaries with a single IP-gNB, connecting IoT’s from anywhere. Standard 5G OSS/BSS can be deployed. As a part of 5G network, it gives Flexibility to use proven 5G Existing utilities like Billing, NMS, AI/ML predictions etc. System is hostable in cloud or within your Premise. Own 5G IOT Network & Deploy and start NOW, as No infrastructure and spectrum is required. This provides a big cost saving to consumer.
Anil Kempanna’s insights provide a compelling look into how 5G innovations are pivotal in advancing IoT applications. CIENTRA’s approach, under his leadership, is a testament to the transformative power of 5G technologies in driving India’s digital revolution and shaping the global tech landscape.
