NEW DELHI: Telco software provider Mavenir and NEC Corporation on Wednesday said they have jointly deployed massive MIMO (mMIMO) on Orange’s 5G standalone (SA) experimental network, in a move that the companies described as a major stepping stone toward Open RAN deployments.
Mavenir has deployed its cloud-native Open Virtualized Radio Access Network (Open vRAN) software on Orange’s cloud infrastructure with NEC’s 32T32R mMIMO active antenna unit (AAU) to deliver high capacity and enhanced coverage, according to an official statement.
The companies have deployed the telecom gear at the Orange Gardens campus in Chatillon near Paris, and are part of the extension of project Pikeo—Orange’s cloud-based and fully automated 5G SA experimental network.
“Mavenir and NEC’s successful Open RAN deployment of mMIMO on Orange’s Innovation 5G SA experimental network is a major stepping stone on the road towards Open RAN deployments and illustrates Orange’s commitment to support the development of multi-vendor Open RAN solutions with innovative partners,” said Arnaud Vamparys, SVP Radio Access Networks and Microwaves at Orange.
“Deploying 5G SA mMIMO is a significant milestone in developing Open RAN and transitioning from virtualised to cloudified networks,” said Hubert de Pesquidoux, Executive Chairman of Mavenir.
“The latest deployment of Open RAN mMIMO in Europe is another milestone for Open RAN and one that required close collaboration and tight integration between multiple vendors. This synergy is exactly what Open RAN needs to successfully deliver on its promise of a truly open multi-vendor ecosystem,” added Naohisa Matsuda, General Manager of NEC’s 5G Strategy and Business.