As O2 continues to shake out the role of Open RAN in both sparsely populated and dense urban areas, it's latest trial tapped Japan's NEC as system integrator and, according to COO Derek McManus, is the latest step in "transform our network through collaboration...
The 5G era is representative of many things – innovative new services, unprecedented speeds, new monetization opportunities and the spread of high-speed connectivity to previously untouched geographies. Yet, unlocking all this potential has been a challenge for service providers, and while the obstacles seem...
Will operator commitment to Open RAN catalyze vendor R&D?
European operators Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Telefónica, and Vodafone are joining forces to support the rollout of Open Radio Access Network (Open RAN) in future mobile networks across Europe.
The four carriers signed a memorandum of understanding...
Telefonica Deutschland expects to accelerate the deployment of O-RAN technology, with the aim of installing the technology at 1,000 mobile sites across Germany, Reuters reported.
Mattias Sauder, director access and transport networks at Telefonica, said the company planned to advance the conversion of its radio...
German operator Telefónica Deutschland expects to carry out a test of O-RAN technology with the aim of deploying the new technology on a larger scale in its network next year, the telco said in a release.
In a pilot phase, Telefónica Deutschland is testing O-RAN...
The disintermediated nature of open virtualized radio access networks (Open vRANs) is the key to the flexibility, cost savings and innovation that have made it a part of the plan for many mobile network operators (MNOs) that are expanding a 4G network or embarking...
The merits of Open RAN has become a topic of much debate in wireless circles. This is unsurprising since Open RAN will – or won’t – drive hundreds of billions of dollars of investment by telecom equipment manufacturers, mobile network operators and the investment...
NEC announced the establishment of an Open RAN laboratory in India as a complement to its Center of Excellence (CoE) in the U.K.
The Japanese company said that the new facility will accelerate development of NEC’s 5G open ecosystem by pre-integrating partner Open RAN components...
U.K. operator O2, owned by Spanish telco Telefonica, said it has successfully piloted the integration and operation of Vilicom’s Open RAN (O-RAN) infrastructure, enhancing indoor mobile connectivity for O2 business customers over Vilicom’s Connectivity-as-a-Service (CaaS) network platform.
O2 said it plans to connect the pilot...
Once seen as an “emerging” technology, Open RAN is evolving and maturing. Open RAN, which has been touted as one of the most significant trends to transform the telecom industry, took off in ways no one ever expected in 2020. The consolidation of the...
Japanese company Fujitsu announced that its O-RAN-compatible 5G radio unit was selected by compatriot carrier KDDI for the construction of virtualized base stations for 5G commercial services in Japan.
The base stations will be delivered in the second half of fiscal year 2021, Fujitsu said.
The...
With topics ranging from the basic components of Cloud RAN, management and orchestration and the relationship between Ericsson Spectrum Sharing and Cloud RAN, this e-book will keep you hooked until the last page.
U.K. mobile operators must stop installing any Huawei equipment in 5G networks, as of the end of September 2021, the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport said in a release.
The government expects to release today a roadmap for the complete removal of high...
Pilot in Wales scaling up to 2,600 Open RAN sites in Wales and England
In August this year, Vodafone U.K. turned on its first Open RAN site at the Royal Welsh Showground in Powys, Wales. That particular project used software from the U.S.-based vendor Mavenir...
Japanese company NEC announced the establishment of its Global Open RAN Center of Excellence (CoE) in the U.K. to accelerate the global adoption of Open RAN.
In a release, NEC also said that the new facility has the aim of further strengthening the company’s structure...
The demo featured a commercial end-to-end Open Fronthaul interface based on O-RAN specifications
In October, the O-RAN Alliance conducted its second Global O-RAN Alliance plugfest, an event that boasts the goal of testing and demonstrating “the growing maturity of the O-RAN ecosystem.” This week, Altiostar...
Rakuten Mobile CTO takes spot on O-RAN Alliance board
Japanese operator Rakuten Mobile, a subsidiary of e-commerce giant Rakuten, announced it has joined the O-RAN Alliance, a worldwide community promoting open, fully interoperable radio access networks (RAN).
Tareq Amin, representative director, EVP and CTO of Rakuten...
Intel has signed a partnership with U.S. operator Dish Nework to supply virtualized RAN (vRAN) equipment for a standalone 5G deployment, the chipmaker said in a release.
As part of the deal, Intel’s 5G infrastructure technology will create the foundation for Dish’s greenfield 5G network.
The...
Qualcomm President: '5G requires infrastructure like we’ve never seen'
At Qualcomm’s annual 5G Summit, the company announced the expansion of its 5G RAN portfolio. The additions, which include the new Qualcomm Radio Unit, Distributed Unit and Distributed Radio Unit system-on-chip platforms, are all part of...
“The opening up of new markets, foreign or domestic, and the organizational development from the craft shop and factory to such concerns ... illustrate the same process of industrial mutation--if I may use that biological term--that incessantly revolutionizes the economic structure from within, incessantly...
Japanese vendor NEC will play a role in the development of next-generation 5G wireless networks in the U.K., according to reports published by Japanese newspapers.
In a Twitter post last week, Britain's Department for International Trade said NEC is expected "to support roll out of...
The Cloud RAN solution supports Ericsson Spectrum Sharing and 5G SA and NSA
Ericsson has announced Cloud RAN (Radio Access Network), a new solution to be released in 2021, that the company said will add greater flexibility and versatility to operator’s network buildouts, as well...
Japan’s NEC Corporation and global high-performance analog technology company Analog Devices (ADI) announced a partnership to design a 5G Network Massive MIMO Antenna Radio Unit for Japanese telco Rakuten Mobile.
The radio unit adopts ADI's fourth-generation wideband RF transceiver solution to achieve high-precision Massive MIMO...
Earlier this week, Qualcomm announced new chipsets for Virtualized Radio Access Network (vRAN) and open networks, adding to its existing small cell chipset product line (Qualcomm 5G Radio Access Network (RAN) for small cells). Specifically, the announcement focused on the following domains:
The Qualcomm...
Building out a wireless network is expensive, and most of the CAPEX is related to the radio access network (RAN) segment, reaching as high as 80% of total network cost.
For decades, operators have been “locked in” to legacy RAN vendors, like Huawei, Ericsson and...