NEC and Freshwave project selected for UK’s Open RAN competition

NEC and Freshwave have been selected for Project NAVIGATE as part of the UK Government’s Open Networks Ecosystem (ONE) competition.

ONE is part of the government’s ambitious £250 million 5G Telecoms Supply Chain Diversification Strategy, aimed at nurturing pioneering research and development projects in the telecom sector.

Tom Bennett, CTO at Freshwave, said: “We’re excited to have been successful in the Open Networks Ecosystem Competition and looking forward to...

16 October 2023 | 5G

Cisco and NEC bring 5G connectivity and automation to networks worldwide

Cisco and NEC Corporation has revealed plans to expand their collaboration efforts to include system integration solutions and potential opportunities in 5G xHaul and private 5G to help customers transform their architecture and connect more people and things.

The companies have expanded areas of collaboration under their Global Systems Integrator Agreement (GSIA) with augmented solutions for scalable 5G xHaul transport networks, such as enhanced capabilities for end-to-end...

27 February 2023 | 5G

Virgin Media O2, NEC and Rakuten activate Open RAN sites

Virgin Media O2, NEC, and Rakuten have activated their first commercial sites as part of an Open RAN partnership.

Open RAN helps to break up the relative monopoly held by a handful of telecom equipment vendors and provides greater diversity in national infrastructure.

“The successful activation of Virgin Media O2’s first UK macro-sites demonstrates the potential of the multi-vendor Open RAN model,” said Jeanie York, CTO at Virgin Media O2.

“We are...

30 August 2022 | 5G

NEC, Fujitsu, DOCOMO, and NTT begin 6G trials

Four leading vendors (NEC, Fujitsu, DOCOMO, and NTT) are collaborating on experimental 6G trials.

5G and 4G networks still have plenty of time before they’re shuttered, but it’s never too soon to prepare for what comes next.

The joint 6G trials announced today will aim to accelerate progress towards realising practical applications for the next-generation network.

Naoki Tani, Executive Vice President and CTO at DOCOMO, said:

"DOCOMO has been...

6 June 2022 | 6G

NTT DOCOMO and NEC successfully test 5G SA using O-RAN equipment in multi-vendor configuration

NTT DOCOMO and NEC have successfully tested a 5G standalone (SA) network using a base station conforming to O-RAN specifications in a multi-vendor configuration.

A software upgrade to NEC’s 5G base station baseband unit operating on DOCOMO’s commercial network transitioned it from a non-standalone system into a standalone using the same hardware.

5G SA networks enable operators to provide services that take full advantage of the latest mobile...

2 December 2021 | 5G

Vodafone gives OpenRAN contracts to Samsung, NEC, Dell, Wind River, and others

Vodafone has given valuable contracts to Samsung, NEC, Dell, Wind River, and others as part of its commitment to use OpenRAN in its network.

OpenRAN gives the opportunity for smaller telecoms vendors to compete against legacy players with standards-based and interoperable equipment.

Matthew O’Neill, Head of Networks at NTT DATA UK, said:

“Vodafone’s announcement will progress the development of OpenRAN technology across Europe – a positive move that...

14 June 2021 | Networks

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