Ericsson, O2 Telefonica announce cloud RAN deployment

By Juan Pedro Tomás February 28, 2024

Collected at: https://www.rcrwireless.com/20240228/open_ran/ericsson-o2-telefonica-announce-cloud-ran-deployment

Ericsson claimed the deployment is the first cloud RAN project in Europe

Swedish vendor Ericsson and German operator O2 Telefonica will start deploying Cloud RAN technology to support the latter’s 5G Standalone (SA) network in Offenbach, Germany in the first half of 2024.

The vendor said that this project will be the first deployment of Ericsson cloud RAN in Europe.

The Nordic vendor also noted that virtualization is a key pillar of Open RAN technology and key in the process to develop more open and programmable networks, adding that cloud RAN deployment will enable a new range of services and enhanced customer experiences for the European market.

Mallik Rao, chief technology and information officer at O2 Telefonica, said: ”We are constructing our network of the future to offer Germany’s consumers and businesses the best network experience and new digital services. Our cloud transformation in the core and RAN network is an important building block for a flexible, fully automated, high-performance network.”

“Building on our 5G packet core cloud native collaboration, we are jointly cloudifying the network to pave the way for the network of the future,” said Daniel Leimbach, head of customer unit Western Europe at Ericsson.

With this new deployment, O2 Telefonica will be in a position to rapidly introduce new software capabilities, adopt an O-RAN approach in the service management and orchestration (SMO) architecture and leverage rApps to further enhance its solutions, Ericsson said.

This initiative follows a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by Ericsson and Spanish telecom group Telefonica in September 2023 to accelerate O-RAN adoption via trials deployments in Europe.  

In October 2023, O2 Telefonica had announced the launch of its 5G Standalone (SA) network in Germany under the 5G Plus brand.

O2 Telefónica had said it has already been using the 5G SA technology in 5G campus networks for companies and public authorities since 2020. With this 5G SA launch, the company noted that more companies in different sectors such as industry, healthcare and the public sector will have access to improved connectivity.

The carrier’s 5G Plus uses frequencies in the 700 MHz, 1.8 GHz and 3.6 GHz bands.

Ericsson also this week announced the turn-up of its first Cloud RAN sites with AT&T, in the Dallas, Texas area.