Deutsche Telekom to test cloud-based virtual RAN with VMware, Intel

VMware and Deutsche Telekom are collaborating on an open and intelligent virtual RAN (vRAN) platform, based on O-RAN standards, for both existing LTE and future 5G networks.

The solution is based on Intel’s FlexRAN architecture. It runs vRAN workloads on top of VMware’s telco cloud platform. The design is optimized for real-time and low latency workloads. The solution will also feature a VMware-developed pre-standard, near-real-time RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC) that will adopt O-RAN open interfaces with required enhancements to enable real-time radio resource management capabilities to be delivered as applications on top of the platform. VMware, Deutsche Telekom and Intel are collaborating with an open partner ecosystem to develop this solution, and key initial partners include Cohere Technologies and Mavenir.

Deutsche Telekom will conduct testing and validation at its headquarters in Bonn, Germany.

“As the traditional RAN becomes the open RAN, we need to accelerate the development of scalable high-performance open RAN solutions. Our collaboration with VMware and Intel aims to address scalability and related economics for vRAN macro layer deployment,” says Alex Jinsung Choi, SVP Strategy & Technology Innovation (STI), Deutsche Telekom. “Going forward, we will jointly collaborate with the open RAN vendor ecosystem to accelerate commercial availability of solutions.”

“This solution brings the promise of RAN to the forefront for today’s LTE networks and tomorrow’s 5G networks,” said Shekar Ayyar, executive vice president and general manager, Telco and Edge Cloud, VMware. “In a 5G world, the RAN needs to become software-defined in order to meet the needs of CSPs, and what we’re proposing with this open and intelligent vRAN platform will do exactly that.”

https://www.telekom.com/