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AT&T Gives the Open RAN Movement a Helpful Push, but Much of its Plan Remains Unknown

December 7, 2023 by edgubbins, posted in Net Transformation

Summary Bullets:

• Ericsson’s joint announcement with AT&T this week of plans for high-scale open RAN deployment represents an important milestone for the open RAN movement and could help stimulate the ecosystem.

• But it’s not clear exactly how widely and quickly AT&T plans to put in place true open RAN in the most meaningful sense – multi-vendor base stations that invigorate supplier competition and software innovation.

Source: Ericsson, AT&T

Ericsson’s joint announcement with AT&T this week of plans for high-scale open RAN deployment represents an important milestone for the open RAN movement, which AT&T helped launch to begin with, but which has not yet seen dramatic acceleration in operator networks. AT&T’s moves in that area could help alter the movement’s trajectory.

Continue reading “AT&T Gives the Open RAN Movement a Helpful Push, but Much of its Plan Remains Unknown” →

At its 5G Summit, ZTE Advances RIS and Introduces ‘RAN Composer’

December 1, 2023December 1, 2023 by edgubbins, posted in Het Nets, Net Transformation

Summary Bullets:

• At the ZTE 5G Summit in Bangkok (Thailand) in November 2023, ZTE continued its focus on RIS with a next-generation prototype that consumes less power than its predecessor.

• ZTE also introduced ZTE RAN Composer, a solution that inserts general-purpose computing into the baseband unit to aid AI-based RAN optimization applications.

At the 2023 ZTE 5G Summit in Bangkok (Thailand), ZTE presented a range of views on 5G’s continuing and future evolution, including presentations from operators and analysts in addition to ZTE representatives. The company also highlighted two forward-looking technologies that stood out: reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RIS) and what ZTE has branded as ‘RAN Composer.’

Continue reading “At its 5G Summit, ZTE Advances RIS and Introduces ‘RAN Composer’” →

Ericsson’s New RAN Compute Gear Steps Up Capacity, Efficiency for Mid-Band 5G Expansion

November 16, 2023 by edgubbins, posted in Net Transformation

Summary Bullets:

• Ericsson introduced four new radio access network (RAN) compute baseband processing products, including two products with varying capacity levels and outdoor versions of each one.

• The vendor also introduced new software features to optimize carrier aggregation and the quality of users’ experience.

Ericsson announced a range of new products this week spanning the RAN and transport network domains.

In the RAN category, Ericsson introduced four new products in its RAN Compute portfolio of baseband processing products: The RAN Processor 6672 is a one-rack-unit 4G/5G baseband unit, and the RAN Processor 6655 is a lower-capacity version of that product. In addition, the Radio Processor 6372 and 6355 are ruggedized outdoor versions of the 6672 and 6655, respectively. Continue reading “Ericsson’s New RAN Compute Gear Steps Up Capacity, Efficiency for Mid-Band 5G Expansion” →

MWC23 Shanghai Showcases RAN Vendors Eager to Usher in 5G-Advanced

July 10, 2023July 18, 2023 by edgubbins, posted in Net Transformation

Summary Bullets:

• 5G-Advanced and energy efficiency were two prominent themes among RAN vendors at MWC Shanghai.

• ZTE introduced a new offering for private networks that features integrated RAN and core functions.

In June 2023, Mobile World Congress (MWC) Shanghai celebrated its 10th anniversary as an Asian counterpart to the MWC held annually in Barcelona, Spain. As usual, China’s two biggest RAN vendors, Huawei and ZTE, loomed large over the proceedings, but neither vendor made major new RAN product announcements at the show.

Continue reading “MWC23 Shanghai Showcases RAN Vendors Eager to Usher in 5G-Advanced” →