Cradlepoint evolves LTE router portfolio, management capability

Cradlepoint continues to enhance its LTE wireless-router portfolio while providing a cloud-based NetCloud network-management solution that can make it much easier for public-safety agencies to maintain and monitor their broadband connections, according to company officials.

During the recent IWCE 2018 show in Orlando, Cradlepoint exhibited its ruggedized IBR900 in-vehicle LTE router within the FirstNet/AT&T booth. Both the IBR900 and the IBR1700—Cradlepoint’s newest router, introduced in January—are capable of being used on the AT&T network, according to Jonathan Fischer, Cradlepoint’s vice president of business development.

“AT&T is a major partner of ours, and the products are approved by AT&T,” Fischer said during an interview with IWCE’s Urgent Communications. 

Cradlepoint’s IBR900 is a single-modem device that enables LTE throughput speeds up to 600 MB/s and Wi-Fi connectivity and can be utilized with a dock that provides a secondary modem, Fischer said. In contrast, the IBR1700 provides this dual-modem functionality in a single package that also supports automatic-vehicle-location (AVL) applications, he said.

“Because our IBR1700 has a modular modem bay, if a new modem or a faster modem comes out in the future, you can simply put that new modem in the device,” Fischer said. “So, it gives you some future-proofing, as well.”

Robert Auci, Cradlepoint’s vice president of global channel marketing, said the LTE connection enabled by the ruggedized router can be leveraged by hundreds of devices within Wi-Fi range of the vehicle.

Cradlepoint also provides wireless-router solutions for enterprise branches—for instance, police and fire stations in the public-safety arena—and connectivity packages that are designed to support Internet of Things (IoT) applications.

Overall, Cradlepoint is being used by more than 700 police and fire department, and “we have deployments in 100% of the top-25 cities,” Auci said during an interview with IWCE’s Urgent Communications.

In addition, Cradlepoint announced in February its NetCloud solution, a cloud-based network-management platform that provides customers with the ability to monitor performance and implement software upgrades and security patches remotely—an especially important feature for agencies with limited resources, Fischer said.

“All that can be done with one person at a console—they can do all of those upgrades, manage those devices, locate those devices, etc.,” Fischer said. “So, we provide to a small suburban area the ability to do really strong management and control of those devices from one centralized location.”

Auci said the list price for the IBR900 is $549 for a one-year package and $2,000 for a five-year package. The IBR1700’s list price is $1,299 for a one-year package.

Cradlepoint offers 1-year, 3-year and 5-year packages for its products. Each package includes all software, service, support and warranty coverage, according to Fischer.