O2 has teamed up with NEC to run a trial of OpenRAN technology using hardware from multiple vendors.
OpenRAN promotes open, standards-based and interoperable software and hardware for radio access networks. By decoupling software and hardware and enabling multi-vendor interoperability, OpenRAN offers operators greater deployment flexibility, potential cost savings and improved network resilience.
The joint trial combined NEC’s systems integration with virtualised RAN software from Altiostar and radios and servers from vendors including GigaTera Communications and Supermicro.
Derek McManus, Chief Operating Officer of O2, said:
“The partnership between NEC and O2 promises to accelerate the provision and growth of OpenRAN solutions in the UK.
O2 will continue to transform our network through collaboration and the optimisation of new technologies such as OpenRAN.”
The trial ran on O2’s live core network and was hosted at NEC’s newly established UK Center of Excellence.
Mayuko Tatewaki, General Manager of the Service Provider Solutions Division at NEC Corporation, added:
“We are extremely excited to be driving this journey on the home ground of our OpenRAN Center of Excellence in the UK.
Through close collaboration with O2, we are honoured to contribute to the diversification and innovation of network transformation.”
For the trial NEC designed a tailored OpenRAN architecture optimised for O2’s network. NEC reported solid system performance and completed end-to-end testing and interoperability verification across the multi-vendor stack.
Parent company Telefónica intends to build on these UK results by running further OpenRAN trials across its operations, targeting 4G and 5G deployments in markets such as Germany, Spain and Brazil.
If you follow developments in telecom infrastructure, this trial is part of a broader industry push toward open, disaggregated RAN models that aim to increase vendor diversity, lower costs and accelerate innovation in mobile networks.