Vodafone and Mavenir have developed a small cell OpenRAN solution for indoor network coverage.
The solution is designed for businesses with medium to large office spaces and uses OpenRAN to support interoperability and prevent vendor lock-in.
Andrea Dona, Chief Network Officer at Vodafone UK, said:
“So far, OpenRAN deployment has focused on outdoor connectivity, but there is significant potential for this technology in the office environment.
A simple plug-and-play product, which includes all the attractive benefits of the OpenRAN philosophy, is one that can build on our strength of providing indoor coverage through both our macro network and our bespoke solutions.”
The convenience offered by plug-and-play enables the small cell equipment to be placed virtually anywhere to ensure coverage across the entire office.
Mavenir’s Open vRAN software is being used for the solution while Sercomm is providing the radio hardware.
Virtyt Koshi, SVP at Mavenir EMEA, commented:
“Mavenir is delighted to partner with Vodafone in Open RAN and to work in the UK on their radio network transformation initiative, proving the extreme flexibility of Open vRAN.
We are particularly proud in working in the field within the Vodafone commercial network and in the Newbury Open RAN Test and Verification lab, supporting the Vodafone effort to boost the ecosystem.”
Vodafone and Mavenir have a long-standing relationship. In August 2020, Vodafone deployed the UK’s first OpenRAN site to carry live traffic. Vodafone’s OpenRAN sites feature software from Mavenir and radio units from Sunwave. The companies plan to further their partnership to deploy more OpenRAN sites in the future.
The new indoor OpenRAN solution provides 4G coverage “initially”.
(Image Credit: Vodafone)
Related: Vodafone set to Open(RAN) a pioneering new UK R&D centre
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