Mavenir Awarded Two 5G Consortium Projects in UK Government’s Open Networks Ecosystem Competition
Reading, United Kingdom – 3rd October 2023: Mavenir, the Network Software Provider building the future of networks with cloud-native solutions that run on any cloud, has been awarded two 5G Open RAN projects, which are world firsts, as part of the UK government’s Open Networks Ecosystem Competition, targeted at the adoption of open and interoperable network technology.
The projects have secured government funding through the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology (DSIT) and will focus on demonstrating innovative approaches to optimising Open RAN network performance in High Demand Density (HDD) environments. HDD sites – including cities, airports, sports stadiums, and major public events – present the most challenging conditions for the technical performance of mobile networks.
BG Kumar, President, Access Networks, Platforms and MDE at Mavenir, said, “We are excited to have been awarded funding by DSIT through the two consortia for two ground-breaking projects designed to demonstrate the adaptability and impact of Open RAN connectivity with Three and Virgin Media O2, in the high-density mobile traffic landscape. Together with our partners, we are accelerating development and driving adoption of 5G Open RAN networks towards the creation of a more connected, empowered, and sustainable future.”
More information on the awarded projects:
SCONDA: Mavenir is a member of the consortium chosen to deliver SCONDA – Small Cells ORAN in Dense Areas – a world-first project designed to address the unique technical and commercial challenges of High-Density Demand areas.
SCONDA creates a small cell densification layer in high demand urban hotspots to offload the macro traffic and provide a better customer experience. The project will further enable automation of the network performance within the challenging radio environment of Glasgow City Centre. The project aims to demonstrate how Open RAN can be deployed, integrated and managed within the wider Three mobile network in Glasgow and evaluate how Open RAN compares with the quality and capacity of a traditional RAN network.
Other consortium members for the SCONDA project are AWTG, Three, Boldyn, the University of Surrey, PI Works, Scotland 5G Centre, the University of Glasgow and Accenture.
5G MoDE (HDD on wheels): The 5G MoDE (HDD on wheels) project is being delivered by Mavenir, Virgin Media O2, VMWare and the University of Surrey. Mavenir is technical lead on the project, and provider of essential Open RAN hardware, software, and services. 5G MoDE – which stands for Mobile O-RAN for highly Dense Environments – will leverage advanced technologies and intelligent design to showcase the effectiveness of the 5G MoDE concept in real-world, high-density mobile traffic scenarios.,
Key focus areas for the project include an Open RAN Intelligent Controller (O-RIC), power-saving and capacity optimisation, centralised cloud units, zero-footprint implementation, and O-RAN Massive MIMO Active Antenna Unit (AAU). By combining these elements, the consortium partners aim to enhance spectrum efficiency, reduce energy consumption, optimise network capacity, minimise environmental impact, and provide superior service – even in very densely populated areas.
19 projects through the Open Networks Ecosystem have been awarded as part of the competition, for more information visit the GOV.UK website.
About Mavenir:
Mavenir is building the future of networks and pioneering advanced technology, focusing on the vision of a single, software-based automated network that runs on any cloud. As the industry’s only end-to-end, cloud-native network software provider, Mavenir is focused on transforming the way the world connects, accelerating software network transformation for 300+ Communications Service Providers and Enterprises in over 120 countries, which serve more than 50% of the world’s subscribers. www.mavenir.com
Mavenir PR Contacts:
Emmanuela Spiteri
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