Vodafone is rolling out new Open Radio Access Network (RAN) sites in 20 cities across Romania that will help increase vendor diversification, reduce costs and boost flexibility and scalability.
An Open RAN is made possible by a set of industry-wide standards that telecom suppliers can follow when producing related equipment. It promotes interoperability between different network equipment and software components, enabling seamless integration with existing infrastructure and future upgrades.
The network can also enable cities to work with local businesses, universities, and other organisations to customise and optimise their infrastructure to better meet the needs of the community.
“The momentum behind Open RAN technologies is building, in Vodafone and amongst our partners, as we focus on enhancing the customer experience,” said Alberto Ripepi, Chief Network Officer, Vodafone. “As new technologies like generative AI take root and are embedded within businesses, factories, and every day online interactions, they will require intelligence-based networks powerful enough to support them. Open RAN is designed to do just that.”
Unlike traditional single-supplier mobile sites, Open RAN allows operators to use software and hardware from a diverse vendor supply chain, which in turn drives more innovation and improved energy efficiency. The network can then be scaled quickly and cost effectively to meet peaks in demand, as well as new cloud-based services.
The deployment follows successful tests Vodafone started with Samsung and other partners last year in Romania. It also builds on other European trials and Vodafone’s commercial rollout of Open RAN to 2,500 sites in the UK last year.
The commercial roll out in Romania will cover urban cities to deliver commercial network services to Vodafone’s customers. It will eventually allow operators to reduce costs by sharing all hardware components (for example radio units) while independently managing their own RAN software on a common cloud infrastructure. As a result, each company can tailor services and capacity to their specific customer needs, while ensuring each operator’s data is securely isolated.
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