Global Deployments — OpenRAN in Europe

Major European Operators including Deutsche Telekom AG, Orange S.A., Telefónica S.A., and Vodafone Group Plc are joining forces to support the rollout of Open Radio Access Network (Open RAN) as the technology of choice for future mobile networks to the benefit of consumer and enterprise customers across Europe.

In a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) the four operators expressed their individual commitment to the implementation and deployment of Open RAN solutions that take advantage of new open virtualized architectures, software, and hardware to build more agile and flexible mobile networks in the 5G era.

Orange plans to deploy solely Open RAN compliant network equipment starting 2025.

The four operators work together with existing and new ecosystem partners, industry bodies like the O-RAN ALLIANCE and the Telecom Infra Project (TIP), as well as European policymakers, to ensure Open RAN quickly reaches competitive parity with traditional RAN solutions. This initiative is an important milestone towards a diverse, reinvigorated supplier ecosystem and the availability of carrier-grade Open RAN technology for a timely commercial deployment in Europe.

In Brazil, Telefonica’s brand Vivo already conducted Open RAN technology-based trials for 4G and 5G.

Telefonica

Telefonica is planning to deploy Open RAN technology in three phases:

• Initial Phase (2020-2021): Pilots & Trials
• Phase 1 (2021-2022): Initial deployments
• Phase 2 (2022 and onwards): Massive deployments in Spain, Brazil, Germany, and the UK

The objective is to deploy Open RAN in 50% of the network between 2022-2025. Telefonica also signed an agreement with Rakuten Mobile in Sep 2020 for research and lab trials supporting OpenRAN architecture, jointly developing proposals for optimal 5G RAN architecture and OpenRAN models.

In Brazil, Telefonica’s brand Vivo already conducted Open RAN technology-based trials for 4G and 5G with Mavenir, Parallel Wireless, Altiostar, Supermicro, Intel, Gigatera Communications, and Xilinx.

In Argentina, Telefonica’s brand Movistar conducts Open RAN proof-of-concept with Altiostar, RedHat, Quanta, Gigatera, Kontron, and IBM.

Telefonica’s Deutschland went live with the Open RAN network at three sites in Landsberg am Lech, Bavaria, and plans to deploy Open RAN at 1000 sites in Germany by the end of 2022. The ecosystem vendor for Open RAN deployment includes Altiostar, Gigatera Communications, Dell, Intel, Red Hat, Supermicro, Xilinx, and NEC.

In Jan 2020 Telefonica O2 initiated a range of Open RAN (O-RAN) projects to provide better network service to its customers in the rural areas and dense urban hubs, with the expectation of commercial deployment in the next 18-24 months. O2 partnered with non-traditional RAN vendors – Mavenir, DenseAir, and WaveMobile for the O-RAN projects.

• In partnership with Mavenir, O2 enhanced coverage and capacity in high-density environments in London. They provide enhanced mobile connectivity and a better customer experience in areas such as stadiums to shopping centers.
• In partnership with DenseAir, O2 is deploying O-RAN-based 4G and 5G networks at Millbrook. O2 works with Millbrook Proving Ground, a neutral host provider for public and private 5G connectivity, for testing and developing CAV technology.
• O2 has deployed O-RAN-based coverage solutions developed with WaveMobile, across several sites in the UK, including Woldingham, Surrey, which carry mobile traffic for O2 customers

In Jan 2021, O2 conducted a successful Open RAN trial with NEC, Altiostar, GigaTera, Supermicro, and other ecosystem partners.

• NEC developed customized Open RAN architecture, conducted end-to-end testing and interoperability verification in its UK center of excellence running via O2’s core network
• Alitostar provided the virtualized RAN software
• GigaTera and Supermicro provided the hardware for the trial

Vodafone has plans to have more than 2,500 openRAN sites by 2027 (the date for the removal of Huawei RAN equipment). 30% of all its European sites will be using open RAN by 2030, this means 30,000 sites.

Deutsche Telekom

Deutsche Telekom started deploying Open RAN technology-based 4G and 5G services in 2021, at 25 sites in Neubrandenburg, a city north of Berlin, in Germany. The key vendors part of this Open RAN validation process include Mavenir, Fujitsu, NEC, Nokia, Dell, and others. Based on the results of the small deployment, DT may plan for wider deployment of Open RAN technology in 2023-24.

In November 2021, the German government announced the first projects to receive support from a €300 million fund created to develop and test open RAN technology.

One of the winning projects is an open RAN test lab run by a consortium of partners including Deutsche Telekom, Vodafone, and Telefónica.

Orange

Orange plans to deploy solely Open RAN compliant network equipment starting 2025 and conduct virtual and automated network trials by the end of this year. They believe that Open RAN will provide opportunities to the new vendors but not at the expense of Nokia and Ericsson. Orange has launched its Open RAN Integration Center, the first test lab to be dedicated to open RAN technology in France.

Telecom Italia

Telecom Italia is deploying Open RAN technology for 4G services in Faenza, Italy. The Open RAN deployment initiative is part of the signed MoU between Vodafone, Telefonica, Deutsche Telekom, Orange, and Telecom Italia to deploy Open RAN technology across Europe. The key vendors enabling the Open RAN-based 4G deployment for TIM include JMA wireless and Microelectronics Technology (MTI). TIM will extend the Open RAN solution to support 5G services in the future.

Vodafone

Ireland: Vodafone has plans to launch Open RAN-based 4G services at 30 locations in Ireland, in partnership with Parallel Wireless. It was initially trailed in North Kildare and then rolled out across the North-West region. Additionally, Vodafone will also leverage system integrators to improve product automation covering zero-touch provisioning, testing, and operational process definition for Open RAN. In this process, it will further extend the developing ecosystem to include RAN automation vendors.

UK: Vodafone recently launched the first open RAN 5G site, which is the first macro-open RAN site in the UK that uses low-cost hardware and cloud-based capabilities. The base station is powered by Samsung’s vRAN technology platform, which includes its own radios along with Intel Xeon-based servers from Dell operating a Wind River cloud platform. Capgemini Engineering and Keysight Technologies provide the acceleration and testing.

Vodafone has also reiterated its plan to have more than 2,500 open RAN sites in operation in 2027 (the date for the removal of Huawei RAN equipment) and confirms that 30% of all its European sites will be using open RAN by 2030, this means 30,000 sites including both 4G and 5G sites.

Italy, Romania, and Spain: Vodafone also conducted field/lab trials with Open RAN technology for 4G services with Parallel Wireless and Lime Microsystems, in Italy, Romania, and Spain.

Vodafone Ziggo (Netherlands): Vodafone Ziggo is conducting a trial of Open RAN technology with NEC Europe and Altiostar.

They tested the first voice call over the Open RAN network in Oct 2020. They plan to integrate solutions from other technology and radio vendors using commercial off-the-shelf hardware from third parties to transform the Vodafone Ziggo network into a software-based network.

Vodafone announced in Nov 2020 that it would open multiple OpenRAN Research & Development labs across Europe. In April 2021, Vodafone opened its first Open RAN test and integration lab at Newbury, UK, tech campus.

Vodafone has partnered with Qualcomm to develop the reference designs and technical blueprint for equipment suppliers to help build 5G networks of the future using Open RAN technology, enabling further diversification of network equipment vendors.

The Open RAN reference design will combine Vodafone’s engineering expertise at building high capacity, large-scale networks with Qualcomm Technologies’ leadership in developing high performance and low power Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) solutions for device and infrastructure products. The combined solution will ensure Open RAN is ready for use in 5G networks and capable of supporting applications with high bandwidth requirements such as virtual and augmented reality devices, even in urban areas.

“Building an Open RAN ecosystem for Europe”

A report titled “Building an Open RAN ecosystem for Europe” has been jointly released and published by Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Telecom Italia (TIM), Telefónica, and Vodafone. As the title suggests, the paper aims to drive the telecoms community in Europe, from regulators and governments to businesses and research labs, to embark on a full-on campaign to win the leadership in Open RAN.

Vodafone has partnered with Qualcomm to develop the reference designs and technical blueprint for equipment suppliers to help build 5G networks of the future using Open RAN technology.

For Europe to overhaul its weak Open RAN ecosystem and assume global leadership, the operators put forward five policy recommendations:

Ensure high-level political support for Open RAN, including designating “the development of Open RAN as a strategic priority for the EU’s Digital Decade”, as well as recommending a joint declaration by the EU Commission, EU member states, and industry stakeholders in support of Open RAN. “Europe needs to talk with “a common voice” related to Open RAN”, the paper says.

Create a European roadmap for network innovation, including encouraging the European Commission “to create a European Alliance on Next Generation Communication Infrastructures”, similar to earlier alliances the Commission has created for Cloud and Semiconductors sectors. The Alliance should develop a network technology roadmap for Europe, starting with embracing Open RAN.

Incentivise and support EU Open RAN development, including setting out specific priority domains for investment, public funding, tax incentive, as well as policy support. It also highlights the importance of closer scrutiny by the European Commission over any “strategic take-overs of European companies, including start-ups, by large non-European companies”.

Promote European leadership in O-RAN standardisation, including establishing “pan-European certification for Open RAN interoperability and quality to build deployer and ecosystem confidence” and adopting “O-RAN specifications as voluntary standards by ETSI, in complement to existing 3GPP specifications.”

Engage in international partnerships, including setting up a multilateral fund with allies and partners, in particular the US and Japan, “for the adoption of secure, open and interoperable network equipment in third countries”.

OpenRAN Standardization

OpenRAN standards include work on network controllers, management and orchestration frameworks, and the interfaces that connect all the network elements in the RAN infrastructure. There are a multitude of interfaces at work connecting the various parts of the open RAN infrastructure, many of which are borrowed from 3GPP standards.

There are two dominant open RAN standardization bodies: the O-RAN Alliance and the Telecom Infra Project (TIP), however, they are not the entirety of the open RAN standards movement.

The O-RAN Alliance has released its own second major package of open RAN specifications. While the “Release 001” batch of specs was focused on creating open interfaces for technologies like front-haul, transport, and cloud, Features in “Release 002” include specifications for Traffic Steering, Quality of Service and Quality of Experience Optimization, RAN Slicing, and Service Management and Orchestration.

3GPP - the primary standards partnership body currently developing 5G technologies and putting the finishing touches on its “Release 17” package of specifications, with its final “protocol coding freeze” due in June’22.

On May 27, 2021, the O-RAN ALLIANCE signed a cooperation agreement with the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI). O-RAN ALLIANCE shares with ETSI a common objective to perform and promote regional and international standardization for 3GPP-based technologies.

According to O-RAN Alliance - it plans to make its initial batch of standards more formal by passing them through the ETSI standards organization in 2022.

Dinesh Chand Sharma, Director – Standards & Public Policy (SESEI)

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