Antevia wins JOSCAR supplier status for private 5G

Antevia Networks has secured JOSCAR accreditation, qualifying it as a supplier to buyers in the aerospace, defence and security sectors.

The accreditation places Antevia on the Joint Supply Chain Accreditation Register, used by prime contractors and other buyers as a repository for pre-qualification and compliance information.

For Antevia, the move opens a route into regulated markets, where suppliers often must pass procurement and assurance checks before contracts can proceed. The listing also gives customers a simpler way to buy its private 5G network offering.

JOSCAR is widely used across aerospace, defence and security supply chains to assess whether vendors meet standards in areas such as compliance and supplier information management. Inclusion on the register can reduce duplicate vetting when suppliers work with multiple large contractors.

Antevia sells a private 5G product called 5G Shift, which it positions as an alternative to legacy Wi-Fi and public mobile networks for organisations seeking dedicated wireless coverage on their own sites.

The system is intended to address barriers that have limited private network adoption, including installation costs and deployment complexity. Antevia argues that many current projects depend on large telecoms suppliers and specialist integrators, making roll-outs slower and more expensive.

Network design

According to Antevia, 5G Shift uses a cloud-based virtualised radio access network architecture based on O-RAN standards and commercial off-the-shelf hardware. It also relies on the company's patented multiplexing and Shared Cell technology, which allows all radios in a deployment to appear as a single 5G cell.

This approach is designed to remove handover issues and reduce the number of access points needed across a site. In some deployments, Antevia said, it has used as few as one-tenth of the access points required for Wi-Fi.

The company added that the system requires minimal radio frequency planning, can be deployed quickly and can be managed in a similar way to Wi-Fi. That, it said, lowers the operational barrier for smaller organisations that may not have in-house telecoms specialists.

Regulated markets

The accreditation matters most in sectors where resilience and security are central to network design and procurement. Aerospace, defence and security operators often run critical systems in environments where buyers require evidence that suppliers have passed recognised checks before making a purchase.

Simon Cosgrove, Chief Executive Officer of Antevia Networks, linked the accreditation to those procurement demands.

"5G networks offer high levels of security and reliability when compared to alternatives such as Wi-Fi and nowhere is this more critical than in markets such as Aerospace, Defence and Security," said Simon Cosgrove, Chief Executive Officer of Antevia Networks.

"However, at the same time, the ability to quickly and flexibly deploy these networks has not been available. We're delighted to have received JOSCAR accreditation and look forward to bringing rapidly deployable, secure 5G private networks to connect critical systems in a range of scenarios."

Antevia said the model could also appeal to channel partners and systems integrators serving smaller businesses. In its view, lower deployment complexity could make private 5G a more practical option for small and medium-sized enterprises and smaller venues that have historically found cellular projects difficult to justify.

That may be particularly relevant in industrial and regulated environments, where companies want dedicated connectivity for connected devices, operational systems and site communications without the cost profile or planning burden often associated with conventional private mobile networks.

JOSCAR accreditation does not change the underlying technology, but it gives Antevia a procurement credential often needed to compete for work in some of the UK's most tightly controlled supply chains.