[Courtesy of Samsung Electronics]
SEOUL -- Samsung Electronics will work with France's Orange S.A. to disaggregate the hardware and software elements of a traditional radio access network (RAN) by participating in the opening of the mobile network operator's open RAN center in Paris.
Orange plans to deploy base stations compliant with the Open RAN (O-RAN or ORAN) Alliance, starting with indoor and rural configurations. The alliance is a global carrier-led effort to drive new levels of openness in the radio access network of 5G wireless systems. It aims to make radio access networks more open and smarter than previous generations.
"Through this collaboration, we look forward to taking networks to new heights in the European market, enabling operators to offer more immersive mobile services to their users," Kim Woo-june, global sales and marketing head at Samsung's network business, said in a statement on November 10. The two companies would conduct trials to verify capabilities and performance of Samsung's virtualized radio access network (vRAN) and massive Multiple Input and Multiple Output (MIMO) radio.
RAN resides between a device such as a mobile phone, a computer, or any remotely controlled machine and provides connection with its core network. Virtualized RAN, or vRAN, moves the controller functions of hardware base stations to centralized servers, bringing them closer to the edge of a network to allow mobile network operators to pool and adjust radio resources to better accommodate for user traffic.
Samsung's 5G vRAN provides a software-based architecture that enables simpler, more flexible and more scalable network deployments. It drives more efficient access to private 5G networks through easy deployment of baseband software in mobile edge computing facilities that provide ultra-low delay and high-speed services regardless of physical distance.
MIMO uses antennas at each end of the communications circuit. Massive MIMO is a system with a high number of antennas that makes it far more resistant to interference and intentional jamming than standard MIMO networks which use two or four antennas. The 5G era needs Massive MIMO’s ability to serve multiple users simultaneously in a condensed area while maintaining fast data rates and consistent performance.
"Open RAN is a major evolution of radio access that requires deeper cooperation within the industry. With our European peers, we want to accelerate the development of Open RAN solutions that meet our needs," Arnaud Vamparys, senior vice president of Orange's radio access networks and microwaves, was quoted as saying.