O2 / Telefonica Germany and NEC Showcase Open RAN Capabilities with Germany's First of its Kind Small Cells Deployment

Mar 02, 2022 19:08 JST

Source: NEC Corporation

TOKYO, Mar 02, 2022 - (JCN Newswire) - O2 / Telefonica Germany and NEC Corporation (TSE: 6701) announced their successful collaboration in launching the first Open and virtual RAN architecture-based small cells in Germany. The service has initially launched in the city center of Munich to enhance the customer experience by providing increased capacity to the existing mobile network in this dense, urban area.

NEC serves as the prime system integrator in the four countries of Telefonica S.A. and NEC's program to explore ways to apply Open RAN in various geographies (urban, sub-urban, rural) and use cases.

In this German deployment, the flexibility of Open RAN is leveraged through the use of small cells to improve capacity in dense, urban areas. One of the key advantages of Open RAN over a traditional architecture is that it allows wider choice of vendor options. NEC integrated a multi-vendor architecture that includes Airspan Networks Inc.'s* unique Airspeed plug-and-play solution and Rakuten Symphony's Open vRAN software for O2 / Telefonica Germany's small cells to complement the existing multi-vendor based macro cells in its network.

The adoption of Open RAN small cells combined with macro cells will pave the way for 5G densification. This will be especially beneficial in Germany, where multiple industries and enterprises are seeking ways to utilize cellular service functionalities in a particular area or in shared physical spaces.

O2 / Telefonica Germany and NEC will continue their collaboration leveraging innovative Open RAN technologies, as well as automation, to validate and deploy advanced networks that efficiently deliver superior customer experiences in the 5G era, with collaboration from key partners.

"We are proud to have launched Germany's first small cells built on innovative Open RAN technologies that help to complete the delivery of granular, high-quality connectivity in dense urban areas," said Matthias Sauder, Director Mobile Access & Transport at O2 / Telefonica Germany. "NEC became our partner in this innovative project, with its underlying technological background and experiences of Open RAN technologies."

"The potential of Open RAN technologies in the 5G era is infinite," said Shigeru Okuya, Senior Vice President, NEC Corporation. "NEC is honored to be the strategic partner to O2 / Telefonica Germany, jointly leading the industry with practical and effective use cases that prove the value of Open RAN."

*Note:
Airspan Networks Inc. is a subsidiary of Airspan Network Holdings Inc. (NYSE American: MIMO).

O2 Telefonica Deutschland offers telecommunications services for consumers and business customers as well as innovative digital products and services in the area of the Internet of Things and data analytics. The company is one of the leading integrated telecommunications providers in Germany. In mobile communications alone, O2 Telefonica serves more around 46 million mobile lines (incl. M2M - as of 31.12.2021). No network operator connects more people in this country. Under its core brand O2 and various secondary and partner brands, the company sells postpaid and prepaid mobile communications products with innovative mobile data services. The basis for this is the mobile communications network based on a highly resilient GSM, UMTS and LTE infrastructure. At the same time, the company is building a powerful and energy-efficient 5G network. O2 Telefonica also provides telephony and high-speed Internet products based on various technologies in the fixed-network area. Telefonica Deutschland Holding AG has been listed in the Prime Standard segment of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (TecDAX) since 2012. In the 2021 financial year, the company generated revenue of EUR 7.8 billion with around 7.400 employees. The company is majority-owned by the Spanish telecommunications group Telefonica S.A., headquartered in Madrid. With business activities in 14 countries and a customer base of around 369 million lines, the Group is one of the world's largest telecommunications providers.

About NEC Corporation

NEC Corporation has established itself as a leader in the integration of IT and network technologies while promoting the brand statement of "Orchestrating a brighter world." NEC enables businesses and communities to adapt to rapid changes taking place in both society and the market as it provides for the social values of safety, security, fairness and efficiency to promote a more sustainable world where everyone has the chance to reach their full potential. For more information, visit NEC at https://www.nec.com.

Source: NEC Corporation
Sectors: Telecoms, 5G, Wireless, Apps