Wednesday, May 12, 2021

Millicom picks Parallel Wireless for O-RAN in Colombia

Parallel Wireless has been selected by Millicom to provide  O-RAN compliant networks in Latin America enabling 4G. 

In the first phase of the partnership, Parallel Wireless will provide O-RAN compliant Open RAN solutions utilizing 700MHz spectrum, enabling broadband connectivity in Colombia.   As the main systems integrator, Parallel Wireless will provide end-to-end solutions including installation and integration and network monitoring services while demonstrating strong network performance and exceeding Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). These sites are being built on an O-RAN architecture with a Remote Radio Unit (RRU) provided by an ecosystem of partners and Parallel Wireless Distributed Unit (DU) and Central Unit (CU) software will be running on a vBBU (virtual Baseband Unit) provided by server partners such as Supermicro and deployed on site.

Xavier Rocoplan, EVP Chief Technology and Information Officer at Millicom said "For us at Millicom, delivering O-RAN based Open RAN technology is an important milestone. It not only means connecting more people in rural areas, starting with Colombia, but it's also an innovative approach to reducing cost, increasing flexibility and efficiency by diversifying our supplier base. We hope to bring this technology to more sites across our Latin American markets, as we fulfill our purpose to build digital highways that connect people, improve lives, and help develop our communities."

Keith Johnson, President at Parallel Wireless said "Millicom is an innovator in mobile connectivity, and we are excited to partner with them by deploying our world leading O-RAN compliant Open RAN solutions, enabling them to set an example for operators in the region and supporting their efforts to be the first to bring 4G connectivity to their rural and urban subscribers. We are proud to have been selected as an approved supplier and partner for Millicom and we look forward to expanding the deployments across many more locations throughout Latin America in the years to come."