AT&T made a major play in the enterprise 5G sector, teaming with Cradlepoint to deliver tailored services and equipment, alongside a managed wireless network service.

The partnership targets growing enterprise demand for managed SD-WAN services. As companies move their wide-area networks to the cloud, service providers like AT&T have an opportunity to manage these for corporate customers.

Specifically-designed Cradlepoint hardware including 5G routers and adapters, and related software is being combined with AT&T enterprise data plans.

Cradlepoint developed a cloud-managed 5G modem which integrates with SD-WAN architectures, enabling enterprises to use the next-generation mobile technology as a primary or backup connection. The portfolio also includes a 5G mobile router for vehicle use cases.

The products are available from both companies, though the managed SD-WAN service can only be purchased from AT&T.

Rohit Mehra, VP of network infrastructure at IDC, stated: “AT&T and Cradlepoint are well-equipped to leverage the upcoming 5G-led transformation of the WAN and bring it into the mainstream enterprise”.

Although enterprise 5G is most often billed as a solution for manufacturing and process automation, AT&T and Cradlepoint highlighted a customer in a very different industry: newspaper The Washington Post is using the set-up to enable journalists to transmit large files from the field.

Ericsson acquired Cradlepoint in late 2020 and the deal with AT&T appears to bear out the vendor’s assertion it was not aiming to use the company to cut operators out of the equation when selling to enterprise customers.

The latest deal also expands a partnership forged by Cradlepoint and AT&T in 2020 involving the sale of wireless edge products.