NTT DOCOMO and NEC have successfully demonstrated a 5G standalone (SA) network using an O-RAN–compliant base station in a multi-vendor environment.
Through a software upgrade to NEC’s 5G base station baseband unit running on DOCOMO’s commercial network, the system was converted from non-standalone (NSA) to standalone (SA) while using the same physical hardware.
Deploying a 5G SA architecture allows operators to fully leverage the capabilities of the latest mobile generation. Standalone networks enable new services and advanced use cases by decoupling the 5G core from previous-generation infrastructure.
Key service categories that benefit from 5G SA include enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB), massive Machine-Type Communications (mMTC), and Ultra-Reliable Low-Latency Communications (URLLC). These capabilities support high-throughput consumer services, large-scale IoT deployments, and mission-critical, low-latency applications respectively.
Open RAN (O-RAN) interoperability is promoted as a remedy for vendor lock-in, allowing operators to mix and match components from different suppliers. This modular approach can lower costs, increase vendor choice, and encourage competition from smaller and specialized vendors.
Concerns about the security of equipment supplied by certain vendors—particularly Chinese suppliers such as Huawei—led several governments to restrict or ban their use in national networks. Those policy decisions have disrupted supply chains and increased costs for many operators that previously relied on a small number of incumbent vendors for multiple generations of networks.
To reduce future exposure to similar risks, authorities in some countries, including the UK, have supported initiatives like O-RAN to diversify the supplier base and increase resilience in mobile infrastructure.
Nevertheless, O-RAN has its critics and poses its own challenges. For example, Germany’s Federal Office for Information Security (Bundesamt für Sicherheit in der Informationstechnik, BSI) published a report raising concerns about potential security risks associated with Open RAN architectures.
NEC states it will continue verifying the performance and interoperability of its O-RAN–compliant 5G baseband unit and plans to introduce additional units into DOCOMO’s commercial network as part of ongoing trials and rollouts.
(Photo by Usman Yousaf on Unsplash)
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