Juniper Networks has partnered Vodafone and Parallel Wireless to conduct a multivendor RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC) trial.
The trial was conducted at Vodafone’s test labs in Turkey, with plans to move the trial into the company's test infrastructure. The pilot supports O-RAN interfaces and meets mobile operator business demands for personalised user experience, viable revenue generation and reducing Capital expenditure and operational expenditure for 4G and 5G services.
“Vodafone has a clear vision that all mobile network radio infrastructure should be open - enabling rapid adoption of innovative services," said Paco Martin, head of Open RAN at Vodafone Group.
"In order to accelerate progress in this exciting journey, I am very pleased that Vodafone is hosting a lab and field trial for tenant-aware admission control using O-RAN interfaces, alongside an ecosystem of like-minded technology partners, including Juniper Networks and Parallel Wireless. By working together, we will be able to build smarter networks, better user experiences and drive stronger sustainability measures for B2B use cases.”
The trial is based on an open, software-driven architecture that uses virtualisation to deliver more programmable, automated granular user traffic management. Initially the pilot will focus on delivering tenant-aware admission control capability, enabling operators to personalise services and improve user experience.
In addition, real-time tracking and radio resources across the radio access network (RAN) enables mission-critical users, such as hospitals and schools, to have prioritised mobile data services delivery, powered by Juniper’s rApp/xApp cloud-based software tools and Parallel Wireless cloud-native Open RAN functions.
“This multivendor trial at Vodafone has provided the perfect opportunity to demonstrate how Juniper’s RIC, and our focus on enabling seamless application portability, are able to unlock the true potential of Open RAN," said Constantine Polychronopoulos, VP of 5G & telco cloud at Juniper Networks.
"By coupling our innovations with those of Parallel Wireless and Vodafone’s operational experience, we are able to achieve a real-world use case that can deliver value and better user experiences with improved economics for operators.”
Juniper’s RIC solution features an open platform design supporting open interfaces, it also enables easy integration of third-party rApps/xApps, using UI-based onboarding and deployment tools as well as the ability to select network-based or SDK-based APIs.
While Parallel Wireless contributed cloud-native Open RAN solutions - which are now integrated with the RIC based on O-RAN ALLIANCE specifications from Juniper Networks.
“Vodafone has been leading in Open RAN innovation since the early days," added Keith Johnson, president of Parallel Wireless
"As the next stage of Open RAN adoption we are excited to partner with Vodafone and Juniper Networks, integrating our state-of-the-art cloud-native, O-RAN ALLIANCE compliant, Open RAN solutions with the leading edge RAN Intelligent Controller from Juniper.”