SK Telecom and NTT DOCOMO establish metaverse, 6G partnership

SK Telecom (SKT) and NTT DOCOMO have established a partnership to improve their metaverse offerings and advance 6G research.

“The MOU has a significant meaning as it is a cooperation between the representative mobile operators of Korea and Japan,” said Ryu Young-sang, President & CEO of SKT.

“By working together with NTT DOCOMO in the area of future ICT, we will generate tangible results that drive global ICT innovation."

Both telcos already operate...

21 November 2022 | 6G

Virgin Media O2, NEC and Rakuten activate Open RAN sites

Virgin Media O2, NEC, and Rakuten have activated their first commercial sites as part of an Open RAN partnership.

Open RAN helps to break up the relative monopoly held by a handful of telecom equipment vendors and provides greater diversity in national infrastructure.

“The successful activation of Virgin Media O2’s first UK macro-sites demonstrates the potential of the multi-vendor Open RAN model,” said Jeanie York, CTO at Virgin Media O2.

“We are...

30 August 2022 | 5G

UK announces plans to ‘unleash’ 5G and 6G innovation

The UK Government has announced plans to “unleash” 5G and 6G innovation, including through a partnership with South Korea.

Up to £25 million has been set aside for the ‘Future Open Networks Research Challenge’. Academics and industry players can apply for funding to support their early-stage research into open and interoperable telecom solutions, such as Open Radio Access Network (Open RAN).

The Future Open Networks Research Challenge is part of the UK...

26 July 2022 | 5G

Survey highlights growing O-RAN appetite

A new survey highlights the growing appetite for O-RAN (Open Radio Access Network) technologies.

Jabil commissioned SIS International Research to conduct this year’s 5G Technology Trends Survey. 193 stakeholders that are directly involved “in the development, implementation, or adoption of 5G technologies” at leading telecom companies took part.

O-RAN aims to break up the monopoly held by a handful of telecom vendors with open, interoperable equipment. The ability...

30 June 2022 | 5G

Vodafone opens R&D centre to design its own Open RAN chips

Vodafone has opened Europe’s first dedicated R&D centre to help the operator design its own Open RAN chips.

Open RAN helps to break up the relative monopoly held by a handful of telecoms equipment vendors and provide greater diversity in national infrastructure.

An increasing number of governments and operators are supportive of Open RAN for its benefits of helping to lower costs, prevent vendor lock-in, and lessen the impact of decisions like banning Huawei from...

31 January 2022 | Networks

Vodafone activates the UK’s first live 5G Open RAN site

Vodafone has switched on the UK’s first live 5G Open RAN site as part of thousands it has planned.

The groundbreaking site was delivered in partnership with Samsung, Wind River, Dell, Intel, Keysight Technologies, and Capgemini Engineering—proving the interoperability benefits of Open RAN.

Here’s what each partner is delivering:

Samsung: Virtualised Radio Access Network (vRAN) Solutions, as well as technical, product, and integration supportDell: Common Off...

19 January 2022 | 5G

UK Government announces Open RAN rollout target and 2G/3G sunsetting

A sunset.

The UK Government and mobile network operators have jointly set a target for 35% of the UK’s mobile network traffic to be carried over open and interoperable Radio Access Network (RAN) architectures by 2030.

IT is believed that open network architectures will play a key role in enhancing the security and resilience of the networks required to keep in touch and do business. 

Following recent decisions the Government has made around the use of high-risk vendors and...

17 December 2021 | 5G

NTT DOCOMO and NEC successfully test 5G SA using O-RAN equipment in multi-vendor configuration

NTT DOCOMO and NEC have successfully tested a 5G standalone (SA) network using a base station conforming to O-RAN specifications in a multi-vendor configuration.

A software upgrade to NEC’s 5G base station baseband unit operating on DOCOMO’s commercial network transitioned it from a non-standalone system into a standalone using the same hardware.

5G SA networks enable operators to provide services that take full advantage of the latest mobile...

2 December 2021 | 5G

Germany warns that Open RAN poses a security risk

Germany doesn’t agree with the assessment that Open RAN (O-RAN) provides a more secure alternative to certain vendors.

A US-led campaign warning that Chinese vendors such as Huawei pose a security risk led many governments to ban or restrict the use of such equipment in national infrastructure. The exile of vendors that have provided equipment for multiple generations of networks has been costly for operators and set back their rollouts.

O-RAN has been hailed as the...

24 November 2021 | 5G

IBM and Airspan Networks target increased European adoption of 5G-enabled Open RAN

IBM has partnered with Airspan Networks in a bid to accelerate the adoption of 5G-enabled Open RAN technologies across Europe.

Open RAN delivers hardware and software that are based on interoperable and open standards—delivering greater choice and lower costs for operators while preventing vendor lock-in and enabling innovative new players to break the market hold of the handful of established players.

One of those emerging players is Florida-based Airspan...

21 September 2021 | 5G