Nokia and Wind River have announced that they have successfully performed an end-to-end 5G data (Layer 3) call with Nokia’s latest 5G AirScale Cloud RAN solution on Wind River® Studio. The trial is further evidence of Nokia's flexible anyRAN approach that supports any purpose-built, hybrid, or Cloud RAN environment. Nokia’s solutions have been validated with hardware and software from its best-in-class ecosystem of leading industry partners. Nokia is helping its global customers get their Cloud RAN services up and running much faster, removing complexity, and ensuring openness and flexibility. Nokia’s Cloud RAN solution is ready for commercial deployments this year to support the rising demand for RAN cloudification.
The trial, which took place at Nokia's Open Cloud RAN Innovation Center in Dallas, utilized Nokia’s AirScale Massive MIMO radios and Nokia’s baseband software running on Wind River Studio. Nokia’s high-performance, energy-efficient Cloud RAN architecture seamlessly integrates with all leading cloud or server infrastructures. Nokia has successfully performed end-to-end 5G data calls (Layer 3 calls) in multi-supplier setups with several partners.
Based on the open source StarlingX project, Wind River Studio provides a fully cloud-native, Kubernetes- and container-based architecture for the development, deployment, operations, and servicing of distributed edge networks at scale. It delivers a foundation for managing a geographically distributed network and simplifies day 1 and day 2 operations by providing a single-pane-of-glass, zero-touch automated solution. The Studio addresses service providers’ complex challenge of deploying and managing cloud-native infrastructure for core-to-edge distributed cloud networks to provide traditional RAN performance in a Cloud RAN deployment.
Scott Walker, Global Vice President, Telco Ecosystem at Wind River, said: “Wind River is taking another step towards the future of telecommunication networks by working closely with Nokia to deliver a powerful approach to accelerate cloud RAN. Together with Nokia, our collaboration will empower CSPs with greater choice and flexibility, accelerating the shift towards open and cloud RAN architectures.”
Aji Ed, Head of Cloud RAN at Nokia, said: “Cloud RAN is ready for prime time, and we are already creating momentum with our ecosystem partners. This successful trial with Wind River adds to our anyRAN credentials by offering our customers another best-in-class solution and more choice. It is a further example of our anyRAN approach that is helping to make Cloud RAN a commercial reality. The strength of our industry collaborations means we can drive efficiency, innovation, openness, and scale by delivering competitive advantage to operators and enterprises.”