Ericsson, O2 Telefónica begin Open RAN journey in Germany

Ericsson and O2 Telefónica in Germany will start deploying Cloud RAN, supporting 5G Standalone (SA), in Offenbach, Germany in the first half of 2024, marking the first deployment of Ericsson Cloud RAN in Europe.

The joint initiative will leverage the latest advancements in virtualization and cloud technologies to enable greater flexibility, faster service delivery, and increased network scalability.

Virtualization is a key pillar of Open RAN technology and essential in the journey toward more open and programmable networks. The Cloud RAN deployment will give rise to a powerful new range of services and enhanced customer experiences for the European market. The inclusion of cloud-centralized components will also enable the exploration of new business models and revenue generation initiatives.

Mallik Rao, Chief Technology & Information Officer, O2 Telefónica, says: ”We are constructing our network of the future to offer Germany’s consumers and businesses the best network experience and new digital services. Our cloud transformation in the core and RAN network is an important building block for a flexible, fully automated, high-performance network. We are delighted to partner with Ericsson to add modern Cloud RAN technology to our partner portfolio. We are working with the best players in the field to drive forward network innovation in the German market.”

Daniel Leimbach, Head of Customer Unit Western Europe, Ericsson, says: “Ericsson takes leadership in industrializing Open RAN. We are proud to be embarking on this journey with our partner, Telefónica Germany. Building on our 5G packet core cloud native collaboration, we are jointly cloudifying the network to pave the way for the network of the future.”

Deploying Cloud RAN technology will enable O2 Telefónica to rapidly introduce new software capabilities, adopt an Open RAN approach in the service management and orchestration (SMO) architecture, and leverage rApps to further enhance its solutions. The deployment will also facilitate greater flexibility and agility, while unlocking a host of new capabilities based on centralized components.

The solution is powered by Ericsson’s open-fronthaul prepared radios and supported by ecosystem partners HPE and Intel. O2 Telefónica will also use Ericsson’s Cloud Native Infrastructure solution.

This initiative follows a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by Ericsson and Telefónica S.A. in September 2023 to accelerate the adoption towards an increasingly open network built upon Ericsson’s Cloud RAN architecture with trial deployments in Europe.

The joint initiative will also open the door for other communication service providers (CSPs) to take advantage of network automation and RAN programmability to enhance the flexibility, scalability, and simplification of their mobile networks.