Millicom has selected Parallel Wireless for the deployment of O-RAN-compliant Open Radio Access Network (Open RAN) architecture in Latin America.
The O-RAN network will be deployed by Millicom’s subsidiary Tigo Colombia, with the aim of delivering 4G service coverage in 362 rural sites across the country.
With this deployment, Millicom said it aims to foster a broader industrial ecosystem, where both traditional and alternative vendors compete to provide radio access network (RAN) equipment and software to benefit rural communities across Latin America.
“For us at Millicom, delivering O-RAN based Open RAN technology is an important milestone. It not only means connecting more people in rural areas, starting with Colombia, but it’s also an innovative approach to reducing cost, increasing flexibility and efficiency by diversifying our supplier base”, said Xavier Rocoplan, EVP, chief technology and information officer at Millicom. “We hope to bring this technology to more sites across our Latin American markets, as we fulfill our purpose to build digital highways that connect people, improve lives, and help develop our communities.”
“Millicom is an innovator in mobile connectivity, and we are excited to partner with them by deploying our world leading O-RAN compliant Open RAN solutions, enabling them to set an example for operators in the region and supporting their efforts to be the first to bring 4G connectivity to their rural and urban subscribers. We are proud to have been selected as an approved supplier and partner for Millicom, and we look forward to expanding the deployments across many more locations throughout Latin America in the years to come,” said Keith Johnson, president of Parallel Wireless.
In a separate release, Parallel Wireless said that the O-RAN compliant Open RAN solutions will utilize 700 MHz spectrum.
Under the terms of the deal, Parallel Wireless will provide end-to-end solutions including installation and integration and network monitoring services.
The firm explained that the new sites in Colombia are being built on an O-RAN architecture with a Remote Radio Unit (RRU) provided by an ecosystem of partners and Parallel Wireless Distributed Unit (DU) and Central Unit (CU) software will be running on a vBBU (virtual Baseband Unit) provided by Parallel Wireless’ server partners such as Supermicro and deployed on site.
