Vodafone set to Open(RAN) a pioneering new UK R&D centre

Vodafone has set out its plans to launch a pioneering new R&D centre in the UK that will focus on OpenRAN.

OpenRAN is set to bring about a new paradigm for how telecoms networks are deployed. Free of vendor lock-in, operators can use the interoperable equipment which suits their particular needs for cost and performance.

Andrea Donà, Chief Network Officer at Vodafone UK, said:

“The OpenRAN ecosystem is still in its infancy, and we want to spur its...

21 April 2021 | LTE

Dish selects Palo Alto Networks for assistance with 5G security

Dish Network will call on Palo Alto Networks to help with security measures in building the first cloud-native, OpenRAN-based 5G wireless network in the US.

Palo Alto Networks was selected to assist with container security, network slicing, real-time threat correlation and dynamic security enforcement. More specifically, Dish plans to use Palo Alto’s VM-series and CN-series Next-Generation Firewalls, along with Prisma Cloud.

Dish is working on a greenfield 5G build...

6 April 2021 | Open RAN

Virtyt Koshi, Mavenir: On waves of innovation, OpenRAN, 5G, and more

Dr Virtyt Koshi, SVP and general manager EMEA at cloud-native network software provider Mavenir, recalls a video telecommunications system pioneered by BT which he used in his lab at the University of Oxford in 1995. It had "everything that Zoom had and much more", he explains. Unfortunately, carriers in general did not capitalise on innovation, and these days for example, BT is valued at around a $20 billion market cap, whilst Zoom is around $100bn.

The change is continuous - and...

29 March 2021 | Open RAN

Nok-picky: Nokia partners with Google Cloud, AWS, and Azure

Nokia has announced a flurry of new partnerships with all three of the major cloud providers—Google Cloud, Amazon Web Services (AWS), and Microsoft Azure.

The Finnish telecom giant’s partnership with Google Cloud will see the companies develop 5G solutions together which combine Nokia’s Radio Access Network (RAN), Open RAN, and Cloud RAN, with Google’s edge computing platform to deliver additional 5G monetisation opportunities for CSPs.

Bikash Koley, VP, Google...

15 March 2021 | Networks

Eight 5G solution providers join Ofcom and Digital Catapult-led OpenRAN initiative

Eight 5G solution providers have joined an OpenRAN initiative led by UK telecoms regulator Ofcom and innovation centre Digital Catapult called SONIC.

The vendor-neutral and interoperable equipment OpenRAN delivers is seen as being the solution to disrupting the perceived monopoly held by the large telecoms vendors—helping to drive innovation, improve security, offer flexibility, and reduce deployment costs.

SONIC (SmartRAN Open Network Interoperability Centre) is a...

25 February 2021 | Legislation & Government

O2 and NEC conduct OpenRAN trial with multi-vendor hardware

O2 has partnered with NEC to conduct a trial of OpenRAN technology using hardware from multiple vendors.

OpenRAN provides operators with open, standards-based, and interoperable software and hardware. This gives carriers more flexibility in their deployments, reduces cost, and improves the resilience of networks.

The joint trial between O2 and NEC used virtualised RAN software from Altiostar in addition to hardware from GigaTera Communications, Supermicro, and...

1 February 2021 | Networks

Four major European operators commit to supporting OpenRAN

Four of Europe’s largest operators have committed to supporting and deploying OpenRAN solutions.

In a joint statement today, Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Telefonica, and Vodafone said they are joining forces “to support the rollout of Open Radio Access Network (OpenRAN) as the technology of choice for future mobile networks to the benefit of consumer and enterprise customers across Europe.”

OpenRAN aims to disrupt the current RAN vendor monopoly with interoperable and...

20 January 2021 | Networks

Vodafone will help break 5G vendor stranglehold with OpenRAN pledge

Vodafone has pledged to use 5G equipment from smaller OpenRAN vendors at one-fifth of its UK sites from 2027.

OpenRAN is an initiative to define and build RAN solutions that are interoperable, easy for operators to integrate, and, most importantly, are vendor-neutral. The end result should be a more competitive market with many new vendors emerging with capable solutions to disrupt the current stranglehold held by the major players.

Vodafone UK is a long-term supporter...

2 November 2020 | Networks