MTN Group struck a partnership with Parallel Wireless to deploy more than 5,000 of the vendor’s OpenRAN sites across its network, as traction around the technology grows.
In a statement, Parallel Wireless said its OpenRAN solutions will help the African operator deliver 2G, 3G and 4G connectivity simultaneously in urban and rural areas, highlighting the technology’s low deployment and maintenance costs compared with traditional hardware.
Dirk Karl, chief procurement officer at MTN, said the company had conducted trials of OpenRAN in Zambia since 2018.
“Our team has steadily been focused on creating viable RAN solutions alongside the traditional deployments of network technology suppliers in order to accelerate the rural expansion in our markets.”
In addition to Parallel Wireless, rural-focused vendor Vanu said it was also selected by MTN to help with the OpenRAN effort, providing solutions for “off-grid” communities in Africa.
OpenRAN hype
MTN’s announcement comes hot on the heels of Vodafone Group outlining plans [1] at Facebook’s TIP Summit 2019 to hold a tender open to OpenRAN technology vendors, covering its entire European footprint.
US operator Sprint also announced it would open three new TIP community labs [2], to boost its efforts around the technology.
OpenRAN, an initiative of Facebook’s Telecom Infrastructure Project (TIP), aims to offer an alternative to traditional networks by promoting a software-based approach using common hardware.
[1] https://www.mobileworldlive.com/featured-content/home-banner/vodafone-offers-europe-up-to-openran/[2] https://www.mobileworldlive.com/featured-content/top-three/sprint-boosts-openran-effort-with-new-tip-lab/
