O2 Telefonica Germany, Ericsson Implement Europe’s First Cloud RAN for 5G

O2 Telefonica Germany and Ericsson have announced the successful implementation of the first Ericsson Cloud RAN solution in Europe’s mobile network at the Wayra Innovation Hub in Munich, marking a significant leap forward in advanced 5G technology.

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Also Read: Ericsson Ships 10 Million 5G-Ready Radios Worldwide

Cloud RAN Architecture and Software Virtualization

According to the joint statement, the Cloud RAN architecture includes virtualising parts of the radio access network (RAN), which runs as software. Like the Open RAN concept, this approach allows mobile operator to use standardised hardware, such as traditional Intel-based computers, while maintaining software functions provided by Ericsson. The partners said this results in a faster and more efficient network, facilitating the rapid implementation of the technology.

Also Read: Ericsson Expands Open and Cloud RAN Ecosystems With AMD and Dell Partnerships

Data Shower Concept with 5G Millimetre Waves

During a live demonstration at the Wayra Innovation Hub in Munich – O2 Telefonica’s start-up accelerator – Ericsson and Telefonica Germany showcased a “data shower” use case based on Cloud RAN and the use of 5G on millimetre waves in the 26 GHz range with 800 MHz bandwidth. The result exceeded 4 Gbps, which the technology partners considered a significant advancement over the current real-world performance of 5G networks.

Also Read: Ericsson and MediaTek Reach Record 565 Mbps Uplink Speed for 5G FWA

Ericsson has successfully implemented Cloud RAN with mobile operators in North America and Australia and has now accomplished the same in Europe in partnership with O2 Telefonica.