When we talk about migrating your legacy private network, the natural question is: what are we migrating to? The answer is BATS ECHO 4G/5G — a fully integrated private cellular platform that combines the core network, radio access, SIM management, edge compute, and API-driven automation into a single system.
This page breaks down what ECHO is, what's inside it, and why it's built to replace the fragmented, multi-vendor stacks that most legacy private networks run on.
What BATS ECHO 4G/5G Is
BATS ECHO is a complete cellular network-in-a-box. It includes everything required to run a private LTE and 5G network:
- Core network (EPC + 5GC): Full LTE and 5G core with subscriber authentication, session management, policy control, and QoS enforcement — no external servers required
- Radio access network: CBRS-ready LTE/5G radios with scalable coverage from a single sector to multi-site deployments, supporting outdoor, indoor, and mobile (COW) configurations
- Subscriber management: Centralized SIM provisioning with full IMSI/ICCID control, real-time UE monitoring, and device authentication
- Secure data routing: Encrypted control and user plane traffic with IP routing to your applications, edge, or cloud
- Automation APIs: WebSocket and REST APIs for real-time network control and integration with your backend systems
The key difference from traditional private cell deployments: there's one vendor, one platform, one management interface. No stitching together a core from one vendor, radios from another, and SIM management from a third.
The Core Network
The core is the brain of any cellular network, and it's where ECHO differs most from legacy platforms. ECHO's built-in core handles:
- Subscriber authentication: SIM-based, carrier-grade authentication for every device on the network. Supports physical SIM, eSIM, and multi-IMSI configurations.
- Policy control and QoS: Per-device, per-application quality-of-service profiles. Prioritize scanners over cameras, give voice traffic guaranteed bandwidth, or throttle guest devices — all from a central policy engine.
- Session management: Track and control every active session. Attach, detach, modify bearer, or redirect traffic programmatically via API.
- Multi-APN support: Segment traffic into multiple APNs for different use cases — production OT on one APN, corporate IT on another, guest on a third — each with independent routing and security policies.
- Local breakout: Keep data on-premise when it needs to stay local. Route to cloud when it doesn't. The core decides per flow, per policy.
ECHO's core runs LTE (EPC) and 5G (5GC) simultaneously. You can migrate devices at your own pace — some on LTE, some on 5G NR — without running separate core infrastructure.
Radio Access Network
ECHO supports a range of radio configurations depending on your environment:
- CBRS Band 48 (3.5 GHz): The default for U.S. deployments. No spectrum license required for GAA access. PAL licenses supported for guaranteed spectrum in high-density or outdoor environments.
- Licensed bands: For international deployments or specific regulatory environments, ECHO supports additional LTE/5G bands as needed.
- NSA and SA modes: Non-Standalone (LTE anchor + 5G NR) and Standalone 5G are both supported, giving you a path from LTE to full 5G without re-architecting.
- IoT support: NB-IoT and low-power device modes for sensors, meters, and other endpoints that need long battery life and minimal bandwidth.
- VoLTE: Optional voice-over-LTE for push-to-talk, dispatch, or traditional voice calling over the private network.
Radio deployments scale from a single sector covering a small warehouse to multi-site, multi-sector networks spanning entire port facilities or mining operations.
Device and SIM Management
Every device on a private cellular network needs a subscriber identity — and managing those identities at scale is one of the biggest pain points with legacy platforms. ECHO centralizes this:
- SIM provisioning: Create, modify, and revoke subscriber profiles from a single interface. Full control over IMSI, ICCID, Ki/OPc, and APN assignments.
- Real-time UE monitoring: See every connected device, its signal quality (RSRP, SINR), throughput, and session state — live.
- Device authentication and access control: Whitelist devices, enforce per-device policies, and block unauthorized endpoints automatically.
- Bulk onboarding: Import hundreds of SIM profiles at once for large-scale deployments. No one-at-a-time provisioning.
When migrating from a legacy platform, we transfer your entire subscriber database into ECHO — every device, every profile, every policy — so nothing is lost in the transition.
Automation and API Control
Legacy private cellular platforms are typically managed through vendor-specific GUIs with limited or no API access. ECHO is built API-first:
- REST APIs: Programmatically provision subscribers, modify QoS, query device status, and manage network configuration.
- WebSocket APIs: Real-time event streams for device attach/detach, session changes, and performance metrics — feed directly into your dashboards, alerting systems, or automation workflows.
- Integration-ready: Connect ECHO to your existing backend — whether that's AWS, Azure, on-premise SCADA/MES, or custom platforms built on tools like Xano, Node-RED, or similar.
This means your operations team can automate device onboarding, your IT team can integrate cellular into their monitoring stack, and your OT team can tie cellular connectivity into their industrial control systems — without waiting on vendor professional services.
Enterprise-Grade Security
ECHO is a fully isolated private network — no traffic touches the public internet unless you explicitly route it there:
- SIM-based authentication: Carrier-grade mutual authentication between every device and the core. No passwords, no shared keys, no Wi-Fi-style vulnerabilities.
- Encrypted planes: Both control plane (signaling) and user plane (data) are encrypted end-to-end between the device and the core.
- Network isolation: The private network is physically and logically separate from public carriers. No shared infrastructure, no shared spectrum (on PAL), no shared attack surface.
- Audit logging: Every administrative action, every device event, every policy change is logged for compliance and forensic analysis.
Deployment Options
ECHO adapts to how and where you need it:
- Rapid deploy (COW / Cell-in-a-Box): Fully portable systems that deploy in hours. Ideal for construction sites, events, emergency response, and temporary operations. Learn more about our COW trailers.
- Fixed infrastructure: Permanent installations integrated with your LAN/WAN, optimized for coverage and capacity across buildings, campuses, and industrial facilities.
- Hybrid / edge: Core runs locally at the edge while management and analytics run in the cloud. Radios deployed at edge sites with centralized control across all locations.
Backhaul Flexibility
ECHO works over whatever connectivity you have available:
- Fiber (1G/10G SFP/SFP+)
- Microwave point-to-point
- Starlink or geostationary satellite
- Public 4G/5G modems with bonding and failover
- IPsec or WireGuard tunnels to your data center or cloud VPC
The onboard core keeps local services running even if the backhaul drops. Remote access and cloud integrations resume automatically when connectivity is restored.
Why ECHO vs. the Traditional Approach
Most legacy private cellular deployments are assembled from multiple vendors:
- A core from one vendor
- Radios from another
- SIM management from a third
- Professional services to integrate them
- Separate support contracts for each
The result is complexity, finger-pointing when something breaks, and slow iteration when you need to change anything. ECHO replaces this with:
- Single integrated platform: One vendor, one system, one support contract
- Rapid deployment: Days to weeks, not months
- Full control: You own the network, the data, and the roadmap
- Built for industrial: Ruggedized, power-agnostic, and designed for the environments where private cellular matters most
- No per-user carrier fees: Your devices, your spectrum, your network — no recurring per-seat charges from a carrier
The Platform You're Migrating To
When we migrate your legacy private network, ECHO is the destination. Your subscriber database, your QoS policies, your device configurations, your integrations — all of it lands on a platform that's modern, open, and built to scale with your operations.
If you're evaluating a migration — or just want to understand what ECHO can do for your environment — get in touch for a demo or site assessment.