T-Mobile is continuing its push into the Enterprise market with the new Connected Workplace service..

Launched yesterday, the Connected Workplace is a new managed service aimed at medium-sized businesses with multiple locations. The carrier has partnered with Cisco to combine T-Mobile's 5G network and managed services with Cisco's Meraki cloud-managed networking devices and platform.

For medium-sized companies, building out networking infrastructure across multiple locations can be complex. It often involves cobbling together hardware, software and internet service from various vendors with separate contracts and management systems. The goal is to make it easier for businesses to implement complete and secure connectivity across branches and retail stores. Connected Workplace consolidates this into a single solution with unified pricing and support.

“Connected Workplace puts all the essential components of a complete connectivity stack together into one offering for businesses, so they don’t have to go out and get them all separately from different suppliers,” a T-Mobile spokesperson told SDxCentral.

The Connected Workplace starts with unlimited 5G business internet from T-Mobile, which is combined with T-Mobile managed service.

The 5G business internet is a fixed-wireless access (FWA) technology. Business internet provides the foundational FWA connectivity for the broader Connected Workplace solution. Organizations get access to T-Mobile's 5G network, including its Ultra Capacity 5G that includes mid-band 2.5 GHz 5G spectrum. T-Mobile has been highlighting the power of its mid-band 5G capabilities since at least 2022 with broad coverage across the U.S.

With the connectivity in place, the Cisco Meraki cloud managed ecosystem of devices that can include smart cameras, IoT sensors, gateways, access points and switches can all be deployed. Cloud-Based Security will be provided through Meraki's firewall offering. Another core part of the service's promise is the Cisco Meraki cloud-management and dashboard access capabilities.

In addition to bundling 5G and Meraki hardware and software, T-Mobile will provide installation, configuration and managed services to minimize the burden on in-house IT teams.

This includes design and on-site installation of equipment, proactive 24/7 monitoring and performance optimization, unlimited configuration changes and guaranteed 24/7 support. T-Mobile will also handle software license renewals and gateway access point upgrades every three years.

This isn't the first time that Cisco Meraki gear has been pulled into a T-Mobile offering.

T-Mobile overall is also increasingly relying on Cisco hardware. In January 2023, T-Mobile adopted a Cisco-powered cloud-native 5G core gateway platform. Then in March 2023, the two companies announced an initial offering that included T-Mobile business Internet and the Cisco Meraki 5G gateway. The Cisco gear was actually Meraki’s first-ever 5G cellular gateway for FWA.

The initial T-Mobile Cisco Meraki offering is now being extended with the Connected Workplace service that is sold, managed, supported and billed by T-Mobile. The basic idea is to make it as easy as possible for mid-sized organizations to benefit from the network connectivity of FWA with full security and management visibility.

“You can expect us to bring additional device options and managed services into the fold and we’ll have more to share about that in the coming months,” the T-Mobile spokesperson said.