Vendor lock-in issue will be resolved, allowing various countries and regions to build flexible radio access networks. This will lead to a prosperous future, where no one will be left behind.
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- The World of Open RAN
The World of Open RAN
What’s Open RAN?
Open RAN is a radio access network (RAN) that allows equipment and systems from various vendors to interconnect via standardized, open-specification base stations.
Closed network
Interconnection restricted to equipment of only one vendor
- Base station market is dominated by few players
- Base station equipment prices have remained high
Make the specifications open
Open RAN
Allows multiple vendor equipment to interconnect
- Builds flexible and highly scalable radio access networks
- Base station market will revitalize by expanding opportunities for new vendors to enter
- Allows vendors to focus on developing equipment that is their specialty
Make the specifications open
Benefits for global mobile network operators
01
Lowered supply chain risks
02
Reasonable pricing
Expanding opportunities for new vendors will revitalize the base station market and prevent equipment prices from hovering at high levels. Use of general-purpose servers will also lead to cost reduction.
03
Quality improvement
A stable communication environment is provided using Multivendor vRAN, where vendors’ strengths are fused with DOCOMO’s know-how.
Towards Realizing a True Open RAN
Open fronthaul
DOCOMO has achieved interconnection of multi-vendor radio units (RUs) and central units (CUs) / distributed units (DUs) using dedicated hardware with O-RAN ALLIANCE-compliant interfaces.
In March 2020, DOCOMO launched the world’s first nationwide 5G Open RAN service.
DOCOMO's achievements in Japan
5G Subscribers
Over27million
5G Coverage
Access in815cities
5G Frequencies
3.7GHz 4.5GHz 28GHz
Max. Throughput
4.9Gbps 1.1Gbps
5G Base Stations type*Including those to be introduced
in the future
31types 9types
As of December 2023
Virtualization
OREX is now verifying a more open virtualized base station by utilizing know-how acquired in STEP 1.
The virtualized base station will separate hardware and software, allowing the latter to be installed in general-purpose hardware for network construction.
Through virtualization, we can not only flexibly respond to the diverse needs of global mobile network operators, but also package the optimal RANs according to their requests and provide them responsibly from installation to operation.
Examples of vRAN combination
*Type1 ~ Type4 are the verification configurations used in the initial stage of the project. We are currently conducting testing on various configurations, not limited to the prior configurations, in response to requests from our overseas telecommunications carrier customers.
Intelligent RANs
For increasingly complex operations, OREX will optimize RANs by analyzing data from base stations and terminals and automatically controlling base stations using AI and other technologies.
This will further improve communication quality and lower operating costs.
