Orange Spain Successfully Tests a 5G SA Data Connection With Open RAN

October 4, 2023, Spain: Open RAN is the newest radio access technology in the telecommunications industry. This technology, which stands for “Open Radio Access Network”, promotes the interoperability of the different elements that make up radio access equipment, through its virtualization and the use of open standards, as opposed to current radio access networks that use proprietary technologies. Therefore, Open RAN provides three major advantages, which are to favor the entry of new providers to this technological domain, reduce deployment and operation costs, and very importantly, increase the speed in the launch of new services to customers.

Within the innovation framework of the Orange Group, Orange Spain has led a team with leading technology partners such as HPE, Casa Systems, Mavenir and Dell Technologies, which has managed to deploy Open RAN nodes connected to a Core Cloud Native 5G SA network, and make a successful data connection. In this way, Orange Spain takes another step in its strategy of technological leadership in the network after becoming, in February 2023, the first operator in the country to commercially launch its 5G SA mobile network (with the commercial name of 5G +).

Monica Sala, Managing Director of Network at Orange Spain, says: “Open RAN’s innovative approach aligns perfectly with Orange’s commitment to delivering cutting-edge solutions for the benefit of our customers. This technology not only drives competition and innovation by embracing new suppliers in this technology domain, but also significantly reduces operational and deployment costs through automation, which translates into more cost-effective services for our customers. In addition, the ability to accelerate the launch of new services ensures a dynamic network experience that quickly adapts to evolving customer needs. Orange Spain is proud to lead the technological advancement, combining Open RAN with our Cloud Native 5G SA network to deliver an unmatched telecommunications experience to our customers.”

This milestone has allowed to verify the expected benefits of Open RAN technology combined with the advantages of 5G SA networks, such as:

• Deployment of a 5G network, both Core and Access, in less than 1 hour, guaranteeing a fast and efficient implementation of the infrastructure, thanks to the automation capabilities that these new technologies allow.
• Dynamic end-to-end management of virtual networks, prioritizing traffic and following security principles, especially key to providing critical communication services, such as communications for law enforcement.
• Optimization of energy consumption, adjusting resources to the minimum necessary, to promote sustainability and energy efficiency.

Alexis Salas, Director of Engineering at Orange Spain, says: “This pilot has allowed us to test in a real environment our vision of the future of telecommunications networks focused on the use of software and data as fundamental pillars. Specifically, we have implemented a 5G Stand-Alone network based on Open-Source Software that runs in our private Cloud environment of Orange. This network has been deployed, operated and maintained through advanced solutions that aim to both improve the quality of service offered to the customer and improve the energy efficiency of our operations. This pilot has not only made it possible to test the technology itself, but has also been an opportunity to identify the new skills required and define the new processes that this network transformation entails. In short, this pilot has provided us with valuable information to continue advancing our vision of a smarter, more efficient grid aimed at providing continuous improvement of our customers’ experience.”

With the success of the data connection in a Core 5G SA network with Open RAN, Orange Spain is again at the forefront of innovation, driving the evolution of modern telecommunications with its firm commitment to continuously improve the customer experience through network virtualization, offering faster services, efficient and reliable.

Click here to read Orange Spain’s release on the topic.