11552 search results for Open RAN

ZTE has unveiled a gateway that combines fiber and copper in one home box, to provide optimal support for advanced home WiFi capabilities such as mesh networking and support for the latest standard, WiFi 6. Called the ZXHN H6606, ZTE’s gateway supports the open source EasyMesh specification, plus support for VDSL2 35b network technology which is capable of reusing existing copper wiring to increase broadband speeds to 300Mbps, the vendor claims. This is achieved using a simple SFP (small form-factor pluggable) cage – which serves as a transceiver to connect a gigabit passive optical network (GPON) module to switch access to a gigabit optical network. Consumers then get all the benefits of whole-home coverage through mesh networking should they choose…

The rise in interest in private networks, and the increasing availability of spectrum solutions to support them, will spawn many new operators and vendors in the coming years. Many enterprises want to harness cellular connectivity, but not to wait for the MNOs to deploy network slicing, or even 5G with sufficient indoor coverage. A 4G network, rolled out and managed for their specific applications and locations, will do fine, whether provided by a specialized operator, a cloud company or even a MNO division. Shared spectrum such as the USA’s CBRS or the UK’s proposed local sharing rules will make it more affordable for these networks to be implemented even where the MNO does not want to open its own licensed…

As a final, eleventh-hour barrier to the merger of T-Mobile USA and Sprint was removed, with an improved deal for TMO’s parent Deutsche Telekom, Dish Network should be free to start deploying its 5G network. The company, whose roll-out depends on assets which will be divested as a condition of the Sprint/TMO deal, was standing by its ambitious low-capex, rapid deployment targets. The amended deal was struck following demands for renegotiation from DT, based on the falling market value of Sprint since the original merger was agreed. Last week, it seemed that the fate of the deal once again hung in the balance even after seeing off a legal challenge from a group of US states. But an amended agreement…

Japanese operators, in each mobile generation, have blazed the trail for new architectures and advanced services, and 5G is no different. New mobile entrant Rakuten has claimed many of the headlines for its ambitious plan to deploy a fully cloud-native end-to-end network with open interfaces, but incumbent MNOs NTT Docomo, KDDI and Softbank are also taking creative technical and service approaches, and generating welcome new revenues for vendors. Assuming the global coronavirus panic doesn’t wreck the Tokyo Olympics this summer, the games are providing a deadline for the operators to be able to showcase their 5G services, at least in the big cities. Despite delays and unexpectedly tough challenges, Rakuten has now set a revised but firm date to launch…

Rakuten, with the luxury of a cloud-based business model and a greenfield mobile network, has nevertheless struggled with the technological challenges of implementing a macro vRAN in a cloud-native environment. There have been plenty of accounts of the difficulties of tuning up the infrastructure to cope with the RAN virtual network functions (VNFs) and there have been various delays to full-scale launch. However, the Japanese new mobile entrant remains a poster child for the ability to deploy a network differently, and has stuck by its pledge of rolling out an end-to-end cloud-native platform involving hardware and software from many suppliers (18 in all). It is now looking close to achieving its goal of having the first commercial, large-scale, cloud-native vRAN.…

One of the key announcements which Telecom Infra Project (TIP) would have made at Mobile World Congress was of a common remote radio unit (RRU) which would connect via the O-RAN fronthaul interface, opening the way to multivendor RANs. One of the first and most urgent activities for groups pursuing open RAN architectures was the fronthaul interface between the radio unit and the digital portion of a virtualized network, whether central or distributed. The urgency came because the industry already had an agreed fronthaul interface, CPRI, but it was implemented in a proprietary way by each vendor, so that it was very difficult to mix and match radios and baseband units from different suppliers. That, in turn, threatened to compromise…

The two main organizations working on open RAN specifications, Telecom Infra Project (TIP) and the O-RAN Alliance, have addressed a major perceived barrier to a common RAN platform by announcing a liaison agreement to ensure their efforts are aligned. Although the two groups have very different starting points, and their work is largely complementary, there has been a widespread perception that they were in competition to provide specs for some key elements of an open network, such as a common fronthaul interface or a distributed cell site gateway (DCSG). The fact they each had different initiatives for such elements, and different operators appeared to be the main drivers (AT&T in O-RAN, for example, and Vodafone or Telefónica in TIP), fuelled…

Deutsche Telekom has been exploring one way to address the higher costs of general purpose processors (GPP), compared to dedicated ASIC chips, in a high performance RAN (see lead article). While the ability to run RAN functions as software on COTS hardware is central to the vision of a fully open, virtualized network, it does run up against the high cost of the chips – processors and accelerators – needed to support the very demanding tasks involved in running a RAN, especially those related to low latency and constant updating. While acknowledging the issue, Alex Choi, SVP  of strategy and technology innovation at DT, said one solution is to offset the high cost of the processors by using the hardware…

Amid all the rising excitement about open RAN architectures, some large suppliers have taken an ‘if you can’t beat them, join them’ approach and are now aiming to turn open systems to their advantage by leading the charge. Samsung and NEC have obvious motivations to leverage open architectures to improve on their very limited presence in access networks outside their home countries. Even Nokia is contributing code to the O-RAN Alliance and setting out a strong strategy to harness openness to lower its RAN costs, increase its market share, and refocus on higher margin software and services. But the big two remain unconvinced. Ericsson has joined O-RAN Alliance but does not appear to be very active, while Huawei’s main contributions…

Had Mobile World Congress gone ahead as planned this week, open RAN technologies would certainly have taken a central role. This topic has everything required to generate an MWC buzz – large operators banding together to change the industry; plucky start-ups taking on the giant vendors; the prospect of a major disruption of the industry. Even without the giant meeting in Barcelona, many of the ingredients were present in offline announcements and debates. Huawei and Ericsson duly played their role as Goliaths, resisting the pressure to embrace open architectures. Challengers like Mavenir and Parallel Wireless announced important new partnerships and operator deals. Companies from the data center world such as Intel, Dell and VMware, eager to penetrate the mobile networks…

There’s two ways to view Wyze; the first is that it is a leader, bringing properly smart capabilities at previously impossible price points, and the second being that it’s a shameless reseller of cheap Chinese gear (usually Xiaomi) that does mild tweaks to the firmware. Until now, we’ve definitely been in the former camp, but its decision to launch a wearable has confused us. A few years ago, there was a vision that the smart home would be able to track its occupants via smartphones and wearables, picking up on Bluetooth signals to know where people were and then trigger behaviors accordingly. Now, the interaction is most frequently voice, with a user shouting commands and questions to a smart speaker,…

Two of the most talked-about growth opportunities for mobile operators are edge computing and private LTE/5G networks. Both looked to be high on the agenda of Mobile World Congress – always a good bellwether for the year’s trends – until it was cancelled recently. But despite the allure of likely growth in revenues from these nascent sectors, they are challenging for MNOs. Unlike previous growth opportunities based on cellular voice or broadband networks that only they controlled, edge and private networks are open to competition from a wide range of other players too, including cloud providers and equipment vendors. There is considerable growth potential in both these markets, and they are, of course, interrelated. A private network for an enterprise,…