Vodafone to test Samsung's Open RAN equipment

Vodafone plans to conduct a commercial pilot of 5G Open Radio Access Network (RAN) at mobile sites across two rural areas in Germany – its largest European market – starting in early 2023. This follow successful field tests earlier this year in Plauen, Germany.

Vodafone’s Open RAN pilot, using software and radio equipment from Samsung, will take place in the German states of South East Bavaria and North East Lower Saxony and marks the beginning of a wider roll-out within Germany over the next two to three years. It is a key stage in Vodafone’s plan to equip 30 per cent of all its European sites with Open RAN by 2030.

Vodafone notes that it will be testing Open RAN technology based on specs from the Open RAN MoU group. These specifications define an architecture for the use of secure, open and interoperable multi-vendor equipment and have been adopted by industry-body Telecom Infra Project (TIP) as the blueprint of choice for building Open RAN at scale in Europe.

Santiago Tenorio, Director of Network Architecture for Vodafone, said: “This will be the first Open RAN system in Germany that not only uses open interfaces but is built on both hardware and software from multiple vendors that is fully interchangeable and interoperable based on the choice of the operator. It brings timely resilience to the supply chain, allowing us to work with a greater number and more diverse pool of suppliers. Greater competition also encourages innovation, leading to a better mobile experience for our customers.”

https://www.vodafone.com/news/technology/open-ran-commercial-pilot-germany