On the push to industrializing Open RAN, Ericsson focused on cloudification, automation and open interfaces
Operators around the world are investing in RAN modernization and, along with it, architectural shifts to open interfaces and cloud-based platforms that enable more robust automation tooling. With a leading position in the O-RAN Alliance and a significant Open RAN deal with AT&T, Ericsson is pushing the industry forward and potentially catalyzing the larger market for cloud-based, disaggregated radio systems.
In an interview with RCR Wireless News, Ericsson Head of Cloud and Purpose-built 5G RAN Sibel Tombaz identified three pillars of the company’s approach to Open RAN: cloudification, automation and open interfaces.
“Ericsson believes that the networks of the future will be increasingly resilient, open, sustainable and intelligent,” she said. “And Open RAN will be critical…in realizing this vision.” Referencing those three pillars, Tombaz added, “We are fully committed…to lead the industrialization of Open RANin all these three key pillars.”
Tombaz laid out the idea behind cloudification as leveraging hardware/software disaggregation to run RAN workloads in cloud environments hosted by general purpose servers. She emphasized that Ericsson has partnered with hyperscalers and the larger ecosystem to ensure portability of its products between servers and cloud platforms. The automation piece is all about aligning elements from multiple vendors, layering in RAN applications and automating vital network functions. The open interfaces, defined by the O-RAN Alliance to support multi-vendor interoperability, create a standardized framework to push scale and replicability.
Tombaz pointed out that Ericsson has more than 1 million Open RAN-capable massive MIMO radios deployed and that, going forward, all new hardware will include support for Open RAN.
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