Dublin and Virgin Media test TIP's OpenWiFi in a WiFi4EU configuration

The Dublin City Council, Ireland, supported by Virgin Media Business, is testing Wi-Fi 6 Access Points that are compliant with TIP OpenWiFi and with the technical requirements of the European Commission’s WiFi4EU initiative, the benchmark for public Wi-Fi deployments in Europe. The deployment includes a cloud-based controller from NetExperience and access points from Edgecore and HFCL. 

WiFi4EU promotes free access to Wi-Fi connectivity for citizens in public spaces including parks, squares, public buildings, libraries, health centers and museums in municipalities throughout Europe. Municipalities receive a voucher that pays for the network including maintenance of the equipment to offer free and high-quality Wi-Fi connectivity for at least three years. Dublin City’s WiFi4EU Wi-Fi network will be a free Wi-Fi network and available throughout its historic city center. 

“A smart city is built around collaboration and openness. We are delighted to be trialing Wi-Fi options that are built with an open source architecture that enables multi-vendor interoperability,” said Jamie Cudden. Smart City Program Manager, Dublin City Council. 

“Virgin Media is recognized for providing ‘clever tech’ with ultrafast speeds and ultra-reliability. We’re industry leaders offering our customers the latest technology and it just made sense to trial Dublin City Council’s Wi-Fi network using TIP OpenWiFi standards as part of our innovation partnership with the council ,” said Noel O Reilly, Business Products and Solutions Manager, Virgin Media Business.

https://telecominfraproject.com/dublin-city-and-virgin-media-to-field-trial-a-wifi4eu-compliant-network-utilizing-telecom-infra-project-openwifi-solution/

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TIP forms Open Fixed Access Networks group

The Telecom Infra Project (TIP) Fixed Broadband Project Group has established an Open Fixed Access Networks sub-group to collaboration between major industry players including  Telefonica, TIM and Vodafone.

The new Open Fixed Access Networks sub-group will focus on improving interoperability and diversity in the access network, accelerating innovation through modernisation of operations and deployment architectures, and boosting capacity in the last mile through transition from GPON to XGS-PON.

The group have already released the Open Fixed Access Networks Use Case Document, which describes:

• The objectives and motivations for this new area of work
• The most common deployment models adopted by operators today
• The core characteristics of solutions that can be deployed to address these objectives

Bruno Cornaglia, Fixed Access Senior Manager at Vodafone said: “In Vodafone, we see that openness and disaggregation are key principles that allow us to build the flexible and agile network we need to support our evolving customer needs. Our work in this area complements similar work elsewhere in the network, for example with OOPT and OpenRAN, and we’re excited that this project will help realize these same benefits in the fixed access network.”

https://telecominfraproject.com/major-operators-collaborate-through-the-telecom-infra-project-to-define-a-new-approach-to-building-open-and-disaggregated-fixed-access-networks/

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Edgecore launches hospitality solution based on TIP OpenWiFi

Edgecore Networks introduced a full-stack OpenWiFi hospitality solution for ISP and MSP customers based on TIP OpenWiFi software.

Edgecore’s ecCLOUD and Wi-Fi AP both use the latest version of TIP OpenWiFi 2.0, released for commercial use. TIP OpenWiFi 2.0 utilizes uCentral, a lightweight agile communications framework that can dramatically cut cloud hosting costs. In addition, TIP OpenWiFi’s open architecture enables Edgecore to work with application service providers to develop services including Smart Indoor Location Solution, network quality of experience (QoE), network security and other services. The Smart Indoor Location Solution is now available for trial use, and the world's first hospitality- and MDU-dedicated TIP OpenWiFi AP, EAP104, will be available for test appointments from now on, being officially launched in Q3 2022.

Edgecore’s ecCLOUD enterprise controller that can manage hundreds of thousands of Wi-Fi Access points (APs) from both Edgecore as well as any other hardware vendor with compatible OpenWiFi software. In addition, Edgecore’s EAP104, the world's first open hospitality and multi-dwelling 

Edgecore said it has actively led the way adopting the Telecom Infra Project’s (TIP) OpenWiFi to unlock limitations and create an OpenWiFi compatible infrastructure with commercial expansion value, rewriting the nature of hospitality Wi-Fi networks. ISPs and MSPs are now no longer bound by a single vendor but can flexibly choose mixing and matching from different cloud controllers, Wi-Fi APs, and switches.

“Edgecore’s full-stack OpenWiFi hospitality solution unbinds ISPs and MSPs from closed network infrastructures and introduces unlimited innovation possibilities and business potential. As one of the earliest and active TIP OpenWiFi partners, Edgecore Networks will keep working with TIP to grow the OpenWiFi ecosystem together globally.” said Tengtai Hsu, Vice President of Edgecore Networks.

http://www.wifi.edge-core.com 

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Telecom Infra Project opens TIP Academy with Accenture

The Telecom Infra Project has opened an online TIP Academy for upskilling the telecoms industry.

The TIP Academy, which was developed in collaboration with Accenture, will offer courses that center on the wide range of open disaggregated solutions that are currently in development. The courses will be enriched with case studies and online events that allow the members of the TIP Academy community to learn from real-world experiences, such as insights from tests in TIP Community Labs and pilot trials, which can then be utilized within their respective organizations.

The first curriculum on the platform is centered on Open RAN, delivering the only comprehensive end-to-end training in the industry. The complete curriculum will include more than 20 modules, starting from the fundamentals to more advanced topics, such as Open RAN System Integration or TCO and Business Evolution. They are self-sufficient content blocks that are reused and mixed.

Learners will be able to access TIP Academy content through an interactive, multimedia e-learning platform, and follow through a curriculum, alone or in groups, with self-assessments and tests incorporated to support the learning. All the self-learning assets are designed to match competencies and learning objectives—from beginners to architects. At the end of a curriculum, a given learner will receive a TIP Academy certificate. In the near future, TIP intends to list those organizations with employees who have successfully completed training and received TIP Academy certificates, onto TIP Exchange.  

“TIP Academy fulfills two industry needs that are currently unaddressed: impartiality in terms of content, and breadth and depth in terms of scope and relevance of learning across open and disaggregated network solutions. TIP Academy is that necessary solution to a global industry need and will be an important catalyst towards accelerated deployment of open and disaggregated network solutions,” said Vishal Mathur, Global Head of Engagement of TIP. 

Vodafone, Accenture, and Deutsche Telekom have signed up to be charter clients of TIP Academy – whereby the platform will be incorporated into their employee learning programs. 

https://www.tip.academy/

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TIP demos Phoenix open and disaggregated transponder

The Telecom Infra Project (TIP) demonstrated its Phoenix open and disaggregated transponder for the first time at the NTT R&D Forum 2021 last month.

TIP's Phoenix, which a Layer 0/Layer 1 white box transponder supporting 400 Gbps/lambda, is being developed by TIP's Open Optical & Packet Transport’s (OOPT) Disaggregated Optical Systems (DOS) subgroup. This Phoenix prototype is built over a beta version of the Wistron Galileo Flex-T hardware platform and the Goldstone network operating system (NOS), developed as an Open Source Software (OSS) within TIP’s OOPT NOS subgroup, through the open hardware interface Transponder Abstraction Interface (TAI).

In this demonstration, Wistron’s Galileo Flex T, which can be equipped with four 400 Gbps CFP2-DCOs with a maximum throughput of 1.6 Tbps. For the coherent modules, Fujitsu’s Optical Components (FOC) 400G CFP2-DCO and Lumentum’s 400G CFP2-DCO were used. Both modules contain a 400 Gbit/s low power coherent DSP developed by NTT Network Innovation Laboratories and commercialized by NTT Electronics. 

https://telecominfraproject.com/first-demo-tip-phoenix-ntt-rd-forum/

NEC joins TIP's Phoenix initiative for Optical/Packet transport

Thursday, November 18, 2021  NEC, TIP  

NEC has joined the Telecom Infra Project’s (TIP) Phoenix initiative under the Open Optical and Packet Transport (OOPT) Project Group. The goal is to develop a 400G transponder for open and disaggregated high-capacity DWDM networks.

NEC will serve as a system integrator within the OOPT Project Group and the Phoenix initiative to realize a fully disaggregated architecture.

The company plans to release its TIP-compliant 400G transponder solution to the market globally along with NEC's ecosystem partners in 2022.

NEC, which has been actively promoting the Open Radio Access Network (Open RAN) field, said that by participating in this project it will also promote openness in the optical transmission area and contribute to the acceleration of innovation in this area.

"Today's network operators need improved speed and agility to provide better connectivity for communities worldwide," said David Hutton, TIP's Chief Engineer. "NEC participating in TIP's OOPT Project Group is welcome support for critical interoperability to prove that Phoenix use cases can be achieved with open disaggregated optical network architectures. We are excited to see NEC products compliant with TIP's Phoenix requirements as well as their capabilities as a system integrator."

Atsuo Kawamura, Executive VP, Network Service Business Unit, NEC, said, "I believe NEC can provide flexible and optimal solutions that support the delivery of a variety of services provided by operators. Through the development of optical transmission systems that conform to open interfaces, we will keep working to enhance and expand optical networks worldwide."

https://www.nec.com/en/press/202111/global_20211117_02.html

ONF and TIP collaborating on Open Optical Transport 

Thursday, March 28, 2019  ONF, TIP  

The ONF and the Telecom Infra Project (TIP) agreed to collaborate on optical transport solutions that increase openness, SDN programmability, and disaggregation. The collaboration combines the ONF's Open Disaggregated Transport Network (ODTN) project and TIP’s­­­ Open Optical & Packet Transport(OOPT) group. Both groups are leveraging open software and hardware, common APIs and community collaboration. The groups said their existing work as...

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Video: How TIP's Private Mobile Framework can Transform 5G Use Cases

https://youtu.be/BNNCm7gQaug

In this engineering discussion, David Martín Lambás, Senior Manager – Connectivity Innovation at Telefónica & Chair of TIP’s 5G Private Networks Solution Group and Sriram Subramanian, Global System Integrator Ecosystem Manager at Facebook & Technical Lead of TIP’s 5G Private Networks Solution Group, discuss how TIP’s diverse set of ecosystem partners provide an immersive end-to-end user experience for private network deployments.

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TIP launches Fixed Broadband (FiBr) Project Group

 The Telecom Infra Project (TIP) has kicked off a Fixed Broadband (FiBr) Project Group that will focus on the development of Broadband Network Gateways (BNG) and technologies for FTTH access networks. The new group broadens TIP’s focus to extend deeper into the fixed access domain, covering the access, broadband and service gateway technologies operators need to build and operate their fixed line networks.

The Fixed Broadband group, which is chaired by Vodafone and Telefónica, plans to leverage existing standards, considering how they can be best applied to meet real world deployment scenarios. The group will design, develop, test and validate a new generation of open and disaggregated technologies.

“Openness is a key principle that we apply at every segment of our networks. Open and disaggregated technologies are extremely relevant for us to build more diverse and cost-effective networks, and to operate them in a more efficient way,” said Rafael Canto, Transport Sr. Manager from Telefónica. “TIP’s work so far to disaggregate the transport network has already led to the creation of a new vibrant and diverse ecosystem, and we’re proud to be a part of this new group helping to unlock the same opportunities in the fixed broadband domain, extending the work already done on IP technologies and SDN management and control”.

“In recent times we have seen a huge level of effort and investment in the development of new standards in this area”, said Bruno Cornaglia from Vodafone. “We believe that this new group from TIP will play an important role in consolidating operator demand behind open standards to ensure supplier products are built in a truly open way, and helping to identify the use cases that are most needed for the industry”.

https://telecominfraproject.com/fixed-broadband/

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NEC joins TIP's Phoenix initiative for Optical/Packet transport

NEC has joined the Telecom Infra Project’s (TIP) Phoenix initiative under the Open Optical and Packet Transport (OOPT) Project Group. The goal is to develop a 400G transponder for open and disaggregated high-capacity DWDM networks.

NEC will serve as a system integrator within the OOPT Project Group and the Phoenix initiative to realize a fully disaggregated architecture.

The company plans to release its TIP-compliant 400G transponder solution to the market globally along with NEC's ecosystem partners in 2022.

NEC, which has been actively promoting the Open Radio Access Network (Open RAN) field, said that by participating in this project it will also promote openness in the optical transmission area and contribute to the acceleration of innovation in this area.

"Today's network operators need improved speed and agility to provide better connectivity for communities worldwide," said David Hutton, TIP's Chief Engineer. "NEC participating in TIP's OOPT Project Group is welcome support for critical interoperability to prove that Phoenix use cases can be achieved with open disaggregated optical network architectures. We are excited to see NEC products compliant with TIP's Phoenix requirements as well as their capabilities as a system integrator."

Atsuo Kawamura, Executive VP, Network Service Business Unit, NEC, said, "I believe NEC can provide flexible and optimal solutions that support the delivery of a variety of services provided by operators. Through the development of optical transmission systems that conform to open interfaces, we will keep working to enhance and expand optical networks worldwide."

https://www.nec.com/en/press/202111/global_20211117_02.html

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TIP tackles Open Automated Frequency Coordination for 6 GHz Wi-Fi

Broadcom, Cisco, and Facebook have created a new Open Automated Frequency Coordination (Open AFC) Software Group within the Telecom Infra Project (TIP) in order to accelerate the commercialization of 6 GHz Wi-Fi devices.

The group is developing a common reference open source software for an AFC system that can be used by unlicensed devices in the newly available 6 GHz band while ensuring incumbent services are protected.

Facebook already has proof of concept Open AFC system which protect 6 GHz incumbent operations. The prototype system will be contributed to the TIP community.

"The 6 GHz Wi-Fi momentum is unmistakable. In the year following the historic FCC ruling to open up the band for unlicensed access, we already have an entire ecosystem of Wi-Fi 6E devices delivering gigabit speeds indoors. As we work towards closing the digital divide and further realizing the value of the 6 GHz band, AFC-enabled standard power Wi-Fi operation becomes critical. As Wi-Fi 7 comes along, AFC will turbocharge the user experience by enabling over 60 times more power for reliable, low latency, and multi-gigabit wireless broadband both indoors and outdoors. With this vision in mind, Broadcom is excited to join hands with Cisco and Facebook to create the TIP Open AFC Software Group aimed at enabling a cost effective and scalable AFC system,” said Vijay Nagarajan, Vice President of Marketing, Wireless Communications & Connectivity Division, Broadcom.

“Bringing AFC technology to the TIP Open AFC Software Group is a huge milestone for the unlicensed spectrum community," said Dan Rabinovitsj, vice president for Facebook Connectivity. “We are excited to see the contributions and innovations by Open AFC and we look forward to celebrating the widespread adoption of the 6 GHz band, which will rapidly accelerate the performance and bandwidth of Wi-Fi networks around the world”.

David Hutton, Chief Engineer of TIP, said: “The industry is coming together to support 6 GHz for unlicensed use for Wi-Fi and TIP will be providing the forum to contribute to make this happen, supporting regulatory efforts by ensuring that AFC systems are developed under a common code base that is available to all industry stakeholders.”

https://telecominfraproject.com/open-afc/

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Telecom Egypt plans Evenstar O-RAN trial

Telecom Egypt is preparing to launch a multi-vendor O-RAN trial.

As part of the trial, Telecom Egypt will use an Evenstar radio unit in its initial OpenRAN deployment. Additionally, Telecom Egypt will test Cisco’s Edge Computing Technology and Cisco’s fronthaul transport solution for the OpenRAN cell sites.  Telecom Egypt will also test Altiostar’s Open vRAN common software platform for the DU and CU functions.  

The Evenstar program, which is developed under the Telecom Infra Project (TIP), is a general-purpose OpenRAN reference architecture for 4G and 5G networks. By decoupling the radio unit (RU) hardware, distributed unit (DU), and control unit (CU) software of the RAN, which are traditionally sold as a package, Evenstar provides operators like Telecom Egypt with the flexibility to deploy solutions from an increasing number of technology providers, while expanding its network coverage in Egypt.

Adel Hamed, Managing Director and CEO, Telecom Egypt, said: “OpenRAN plays an important role in helping reduce costs and increase flexibility and component-level efficiency for operators globally. Our hope is that early positive experiences will lead to greater commercial adoption of these initial products which will, in turn, help expand the network of OpenRAN suppliers. With the specialist help of Cisco and by working with partners like in the Evenstar ecosystem, we intend to drive disruptive technology innovations to keep OpenRAN competitive in the long term. We look forward to more successes with Altiostar, Cisco, Evenstar partners and TIP to deliver on our promise and ambitious plans for a fully digitized Egypt society.”

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Facebook's Evenstar picks up Baicells, Marvell, MaxLinear, Sterlite

The Telecom Infra Project's Evenstar reference desing for O-RAN deployments has picked up new supply chain partners, including Baicells, Marvell, MaxLinear, and Sterlite Technologies Limited. Existing technology partners include ADI, Altiostar, Baicells, Flex, Mavenir, MTI, Parallel Wireless, and Xilinx.

Evenstar is focused on building general-purpose RAN reference architecture for 4G and 5G networks that decouples the RRU hardware, distributed unit (DU), and control unit (CU) software.

Facebook now expects commercial Evenstar deployments in the next half in APAC and Europe to scale OpenRAN adoption. The first Evenstar remote radio unit (RRU) product completed lab validation in December 2020.

https://www.facebook.com/connectivity/solutions/evenstar

https://engineering.fb.com/2021/06/28/connectivity/digital-divide/ 

Vodafone outlines its O-RAN architecture and vendors

Monday, June 14, 2021  O-RAN, Vodafone  

Vodafone named Dell, NEC, Samsung Electronics, Wind River, Capgemini Engineering and Keysight Technologies as strategic vendors for its commercial deployment of Open Radio Access Network (RAN) in Europe.Highlights:Samsung will be a reference RAN software provider. Samsung and NEC will supply Massive MIMO radio units based on the Telecom Infra Project's Evenstar whitebox designDell EMC PowerEdge servers will support the combined DU/CU function...

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Marvell to supply OpenRAN Distributed Unit design for Facebook's Evenstar

Monday, March 01, 2021  DPU, Facebook, Marvell, Silicon  

 Marvell  will join the Evenstar program and work with Facebook Connectivity to provide a 4G/5G OpenRAN Distributed Unit (DU) design for Evenstar based on its OCTEON Fusion baseband processors and Arm-based OCTEON multi-core digital processing units (DPUs). The Evenstar program is a collaborative effort focused on building a general-purpose RAN reference architecture for 4G and 5G networks in the OpenRAN ecosystem. Specifically,...

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MaxLinear collaborates on Facebook Connectivity's Evenstar

Tuesday, February 16, 2021  MaxLinear, O-RAN  

MaxLinear announced a collaboration with Facebook Connectivity to integrate silicon technologies and radio processing algorithms into Evenstar radio units (RUs). MaxLinear will integrate its MaxLin radio processing algorithms including Digital Pre-Distortion (DPD) and Crest Factor Reduction (CFR) technologies with Evenstar RUs to enhance performance and reduce cost.The Evenstar program is a collaborative effort focused on building a general-purpose...

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Fujitsu teams up with the TIP on O-RAN compliant 5G radios

Fujitsu Network Communications is collaborating with the Telecom Infra Project (TIP) OpenRAN Project Group to accelerate adoption of open radio access network infrastructu. 

Specifically, Fujitsu is contributing 5G multi-band O-RAN compliant radios to the TIP OpenRAN project group. The dual-band and tri-band radios are certified by Fujitsu and listed on the TIP Exchange marketplace, allowing service providers to quickly find interoperable solutions and reference designs for 4G and 5G networks.

“Availability of Open RAN-compliant radios is key to enabling service providers to quickly and efficiently build out tomorrow’s 5G networks,” said Dr. Femi Adeyemi, head of the wireless business unit at Fujitsu Network Communications, Inc. “As a longstanding proponent of open networking, Fujitsu is committed to helping advance the adoption of Open RAN infrastructure through our innovative O-RAN radio technology.”

“The development of a vibrant ecosystem will allow mobile network operators to select best-of-breed components from an increasing number of suppliers,” said David Hutton, chief engineer, TIP. “Fujitsu’s contributions to the TIP OpenRAN project group and its commitment to self-certification of its products according to the requirements of operators within the Project Group are an important part of our efforts to continually improve performance of the RAN through innovation, automation and competition.”

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Fujitsu Network Communications demos open optical network control with TIP

 Fujitsu Network Communications demonstrated open optical network control in collaboration with the Telecom Infra Project (TIP) Converged Architectures for Network Disaggregation & Integration (CANDI) project group. The proof of concept, conducted in collaboration with the project team including Tier 1 network operators, demonstrates end-to-end service operations and network visibility across multi-vendor optical networks.

Fujitsu contributed the Virtuora Network Controller (NC) to enable multi-vendor SDN control across a partially disaggregated Open Line System (OLS), helping to define real-world operator use cases to accelerate adoption of open converged and packet optical networks. The controller supports both a standard T-API interface for the ROADM network as well as an OpenConfig interface for the transponders.

The proof of concept is the first integration of a commercial SDN controller based on the OpenDaylight platform, along with GNPy, the only vendor-neutral, open-source optical planning tool for optical reach verification. Virtuora NC supports both OLS domain control and optical SDN control, leveraging OpenDaylight to deliver a blend of openness and out-of-the-box capabilities for optical network design, installation, service creation, assurance and maintenance.

Fujitsu Network Communications said ths proof of concept demonstrates how flexible, modular optical hardware products and software control solutions based on open-source platforms provide a unique offering that achieves immediate needs for new network infrastructure, while positioning the network itself for migration to open networking in phases. This inherent flexibility allows communications service providers to deploy an optical architecture today and achieve an open network architecture tomorrow.

“The open optical control project is a major milestone toward enabling operators to achieve greater vendor diversity and efficiencies in their optical networks,” said Francois Lafontaine, vice president and head of the software business at Fujitsu Network Communications, Inc. “This proof of concept clearly validates the capabilities of Virtuora NC as a true multi-vendor SDN controller.”

 https://www.fujitsu.com/

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TIP unveils OpenWiFi for building cloud-native enterprise Wi-Fi

The Telecom Infra Project (TIP) announced OpenWiFi Release 1.0, a community-developed, fully disaggregated Wi-Fi system, including Access Point (AP) hardware, an open-source AP network operating system (NOS) and an SDK to build cloud-native Wi-Fi controller software for Service Providers and enterprises. The first lab and field trials of TIP OpenWiFi are underway.

TIP OpenWiFi envisions a disaggregated Wi-Fi software system with three key benefits:

• Lower barriers to entry to develop enterprise-grade Wi-Fi solutions
• Accelerated innovation, enabling easier adaptation to specific use cases
• More choice and better economics for enterprises and Service Providers

Three Access Point ODM hardware providers, CIG, Edgecore Networks, and TP-Link, have announced the availability of 14 Access Point designs for indoor and outdoor use cases, and more than 30 designs are expected by the end of 2021 including additional ODMs.

OpenWiFi is managed within TIP’s Open Converged Wireless (OCW) project group.

“OpenWiFi is a natural next step, building on the momentum created by TIP’s OpenRAN and OOPT initiatives. OpenWiFi’s cost effective communication infrastructure options will help Service Provider’s close the business case for ubiquitous connectivity, using both 5G and Wi-Fi,” said Attilio Zani, Executive Director, TIP.

“Wi-Fi is delivering high-quality connectivity that the world so desperately needs, and provides critical telecom infrastructure necessary for daily activities, telework, and other important services in rural and underserved areas,” said Susan Silveira, Director of Business Development at Wi-Fi Alliance. “The vision of Wi-Fi Alliance to connect everyone and everything, everywhere complements the mission of the Telecom Infra Project (TIP), and Wi-Fi Alliance is proud to deliver foundational technologies and programs to ensure Wi-Fi provides an interoperable and secure experience so that initiatives like TIP OpenWiFi can continue to innovate for years to come.”

https://telecominfraproject.com/openwifi-unveiling/

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Vodafone tests Edgecore’s DCSG with ADVA software

Vodafone Romania successfully completed a live network trial of open IP routing with Edgecore’s Disaggregated Cell Site Gateway (DCSG) and ADVA's Ensemble Activator software. The DCSG was deployed in seven of Vodafone Romania’s live network sites in a variety of topologies.

Edgecore said its DCSG was developed as a joint operator community effort within TIP’s Open Optical & Packet Transport (OOPT) Project Group and is one of the first projects to introduce open, standard-based disaggregated hardware and software for use in telecom transport networks. As an early and leading contributor to OOPT, Edgecore has developed a series of TIP accepted DCSG products that address numerous use cases for mobile operators in both greenfield and brownfield deployments.

The trial in Romania validates the feasibility of open IP routers able to serve 2G, 3G, 4G, and 5G mobile traffic and the ability to interoperate with Vodafone’s current transport network providers. The combination of Edgecore’s DCSG coupled with ADVA’s Ensemble Activator software demonstrates the key capabilities of the solution, delivering transport services with IP routing, and with frequency and time synchronization.

George Tchaparian, CEO and President of Edgecore Networks, said, “As the leading provider of open network solutions to tier-one operators worldwide, and the leading contributor to OCP, ONF, and TIP open communities, Edgecore understands the requirement to accelerate the innovation of disaggregated open network deployments while moving toward a more consistent and open infrastructure across mobile broadband and transport networks. This successful live trial in Romania is yet another proof point that open networking is robust and deployable in the most demanding network environments.

“Edgecore has a comprehensive DCSG portfolio with multiple performance classes, CPU, thermal, and timing/synchronization options based on Broadcom DNX Qumran packet processors. Open Network solutions are ideal for high-volume cell site and aggregation routing applications. Disaggregated, open hardware and software reduces operator costs, increases choice, and quickens the pace of innovation.”

“Built on our Ensemble Activator carrier-grade NOS and Edgecore’s innovative DCSG open hardware design, Vodafone Romania trial proves that service providers and can easily harness the power of this open and best-of-breed solution,” commented James Buchanan, GM, Edge Cloud, ADVA.

“This is a major milestone in the path to developing a healthy and sustainable open ecosystem of cell site gateways to increase flexibility and efficiency. We validated the Edgecore and ADVA solution in our networks and look forward to our continued partnership in the future,” commented Nikos Plevris, Vodafone Head of Transmission and Transport Engineering.

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TIP establishes 5G Private Networks Solution Group

The Telecom Infra Project (TIP) has established a 5G Private Networks solutions group to develop a new approach to manage and operate 5G Private Networks based on a cloud-native architecture and making use of a new class of software management tool. In particular, the new Solution Group will leverage previous work contributed to TIP’s OpenRAN Project Group, on a first version of a CI/CD platform that applies traditional IT methodologies to automate integration, testing and deployment of OpenRAN software.

Telefónica has agreed to test the solution in their local TIP Community Lab in Madrid and then move to field trials in Málaga (Spain).

Juan Carlos Garcia, SVP Technology Innovation & Ecosystem, Telefónica, and TIP Board Director said: “This new solution group will enable operators to address the exciting opportunities that 5G is creating in the enterprise segment, both through valuable features for our customers and more efficient network operations. The TIP community is the perfect environment for this innovation, as it will allow us to leverage multiple current project groups (Open Core Networks, OpenRAN) to deliver an end-to-end Minimum Viable Product that we will then test in Telefonica’s TIP Community Lab.”

Ihab Tarazi, CTO and SVP, Networking and Solutions, Dell Technologies and TIP Board Director, said: “For open networks to deliver their benefits, the telecom industry needs an abstraction layer that helps integrate different components into end-to-end solutions. New software management tools based on the ones currently used for the cloud can address this need, and this Solution Group is a timely initiative for the industry to collaborate on making this happen.”

Caroline Chan, VP and GM Network Business Incubation Division, Intel and TIP Board Director, said: “Through the recently launched solution groups, TIP is expanding its scope to include the validation of interoperability between different elements across the whole network, and insights and recommendations about how to operate them. The new 5G Private Networks Solution Group is a strong example of this approach. With dedicated local private high-performance network connectivity as a key emerging deployment model for 5G and edge buildout, this group can help foster important ecosystem collaboration.”

https://telecominfraproject.com/5g-private-networks/

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Edgecore releases TIP-compliant Disaggregated Cell Site Gateway

Edgecore Networks announced the general availability of its AS5915-18X Disaggregated Cell Site Gateway (DCSG), an entry-level compact, temperature hardened router optimized for communication service providers and mobile network operators upgrading capacity in brownfield transport networks.

The AS5915-18X supports a flexible mix of 1G and 10 Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) ports for existing base stations for mobile backhaul in the transport network. The AS5915-18X provides support for Sync-E and IEEE1588v2 PTP, and the flexible design allows for the support of multiple vendor’s PTP stack.

The new platform is based on the Telecom Infra Project (TIP) DCSG requirements document and is the result of Edgecore’s active participation in the TIP Open Optical & Packet Transport group. Edgecore’s other DCSG platforms have been contributed and accepted by TIP and the Open Compute Project (OCP).

“As a provider of open network solutions to tier one operator worldwide, and the leading contributor to OCP, ONF, and TIP open communities, Edgecore Networks fully understands operator’s requirement to reduce the cost of network deployments while moving toward a more consistent and open infrastructure across mobile broadband and transport networks. The availability of the new entry-level cell site gateway will speed up brownfield deployments quickly increasing network capacity,” said Matt Roman, VP of Product Management and Marketing, Edgecore Networks.

https://www.edge-core.com/productsList.php?cls=291&cls2=342

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TIP Video: Building an Open Edge

David Hutton, Chief Engineer at Telecom Infra Project (TIP), discusses edge computing benefits as well as the ongoing efforts of TIP project groups such as Open Core Network and OpenRAN. 

In this three-minute video, Hutton shares how there’s a real opportunity for operators to unite on a platform-based approach for edge computing and discusses how an open ecosystem can evolve to serve new use cases.

https://youtu.be/3b8fAMiYeRU

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Telefónica Peru to deploy TIP-developed Disaggregated Cell Site Gateway

Telefónica Peru will commercially deploy a Disaggregated Cell Site Gateway (DCSG) solution based on a Telecom Infra Project (TIP) design and using Infinera’s DRX-30 hardware and Converged Network Operating System (CNOS). The deployment is part of Telefónica’s Fusión Project, an initiative that aims to transform Telefónica’s global transport network by simplifying network operations while increasing capacity for customers.

The deployment of TIP’s DCSG solution in Peru is intended to support 4G and 5G mobile connectivity and fixed services across Telefónica’s global footprint. 

“The DCSG solution deployed is comprised of open and disaggregated hardware and software from Infinera, enabling Telefónica to prepare its nationwide transport network for upcoming new services, which will help increase the agility in the introduction of new functionalities and drive operational efficiencies,” said Victor López, network architect at Telefónica and co-chair of the Open Optical Packet Transport group at TIP.

“Infinera is excited to work alongside TIP to develop open, disaggregated solutions to support the delivery of high-capacity mobile transport solutions for the 5G era,” said Mikko Hannula, Vice President, Engineering & Product Management at Infinera. “The expansion of the DCSG network deployment with Telefónica Peru further validates the commercial viability of DCSG for large-scale commercial rollouts in diverse and competitive markets.”

“We are excited to see such a wide industry adoption of DCSG tech in large-scale live deployments,” said Luis MartinGarcia, Network Technologies Manager at Facebook and co-chair of the DCSG group at TIP. “The collaboration between leading global service providers and technology suppliers in TIP’s open community has been critical to advancing carrier-class DCSG implementations that are beginning to deliver real-world value.”

Telefónica leads first TIP Disaggregated Cell Site Gateway deployment

Monday, November 11, 2019  Infinera, TIP  

Telefónica is undertaking the first large-scale commercial deployment of Disaggregated Cell Site Gateways (DCSG) technology developed by Telecom Infra Project (TIP). Infinera, and Edgecore Networks are suppliers for the project. Initially part of a recently announced nationwide open mobile transport deployment by Telefónica in Germany, the DCSG solution is a white-box cell site gateway device based on an open and disaggregated architecture for existing...

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Telefónica Deutschland deploys Infinera DRX disaggregated routers

Monday, September 30, 2019  Germany, Infinera  

Telefónica Deutschland, a Tier 1 operator in Germany, selected theTelefónica Deutschland, Series to modernize its nationwide mobile transport network. The Infinera DRX Series, a disaggregated router family that combines a carrier-class white box portfolio with the Infinera CNOS software, enables Telefónica Deutschland to prepare its nationwide mobile transport network for 5G mobile services with scale, efficiency, and automation. Telefónica...

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Telecom Infra Project streamlines its OpenRAN efforts

The Telecom Infra Project (TIP) is streamlining its OpenRAN and OpenRAN 5G NR Project Groups into an overarching OpenRAN Project Group under a revised charter.

The new Project Group will be chaired by Vodafone and T-Mobile USA, and different work streams will be co-led by BT, China Unicom, Ooredoo, Smartfren, TPG, Intel and Vodafone Idea.

Various new subgroups have also been formed:

• RU: Defining Radio Unit (RU) whitebox hardware (HW) platforms for 4G/5G
• DU/CU: Defining Distributed Unit (DU) & Centralized Unit (CU) whitebox HW for 4G/5G
• RAN Intelligence & Automation (RIA): Productization of AI/ML Use Cases for Massive MIMO (MaMIMO), e.g., beam optimization, Radio Resource Management (RRM) and Self Organizing Network (SON)

Segment subgroups: Focused on integrated RAN solutions for specific network use cases to improve deployment business cases:

• Outdoor: Addressing coverage and capacity requirements, performance and features for outdoor macro base stations
• Indoor: Defining requirements, performance and features for indoor 5G NR small cells

“We are excited to lead this transition towards flexible and open RAN with a richer ecosystem. Vodafone has been expanding OpenRAN footprint via ongoing pilot deployments in Europe and Africa. The streamlined OpenRAN structure is a significant opportunity to drive scale and support vendors to more quickly deliver products to the market. We look forward to the Project Group delivering harmonised requirements and proven commercial solutions to support our network deployment objectives,” stated Andy Dunkin, Senior Manager Mobile Access Centre of Excellence at Vodafone Group Networks and TIP Technical Committee delegate.

https://telecominfraproject.com/

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