Mobile network operators’ (MNOs) attitudes about RAN have gone through a big transition. Two years ago, customers were asking: “Can Open RAN perform?” Last year the question was “can it scale?” Today, those questions are answered and customers are asking, “how quickly can you deploy it?”
This was a key takeaway from an interview on the growing acceptance of Open RAN by MNOs with Job Benson, SVP and General Manager, Outdoor Wireless Networks at Airspan Networks conducted by Sheheryar Khakwani (SK), SVP, Partner and Portfolio Management at Rakuten Symphony.
In this video from MWC Barcelona, SK and Benson discuss how several years of trials and proofs of concept have demonstrated to MNOs the viability, scalability and deployment speed of Open RAN.
Here are three takeaways from Benson:
“One of the key things O-RAN had to do was to match the performance of some of the incumbents (radios). One of the things we’ve been doing, especially last year with our new generation platform, is using a combination of merchant silicon and very high-efficiency power amplifiers. We’ve been building a very size-, weight-, and energy-efficient radio platform. That’s key, and once you scale that to a level where you can build at very high volume, you can also get the cost down.”
“Another thing we’re integrating is ISAC (Integrated Sensing and Communication) directly into the radio itself. There’s AI-powered intelligence in the radio that scans the RF spectrum, looks for signatures, and detects interference, drones, or other objects.”
“What’s next is … really about how we make all this artificial intelligence do more inferencing directly on the radio itself. RF sensing is one area, intelligent energy management is another, and AI-based performance optimization within the radio is another. These are some of the key steps on our path to 6G.”
Watch the complete interview video here.
