HELSINKI (FINLAND) – Finland’s Nokia became the first major telecom equipment maker, on Tuesday to work on adding to open interfaces in its products. This will allow mobile operators to build networks that are not tied to a vendor.
The goal of the new technology, dubbed Open Radio Access Network (Open RAN), is to reduce dependence on any one vendor by making every part of a telecom network interoperable, thereby allowing operators to choose different suppliers for different components.
Currently, Nokia along with Ericsson and Huawei supplies most of the equipment for building telecom networks, wherein mobile operators can only choose one for each part of their network.
A spokesman said, as part of the implementation plan, Nokia aims to deploy Open RAN interfaces in its baseband and radio units. An initial set of Open RAN functionalities will be made available this year, while the full suite of interfaces is expected to be out in 2021, the company said.
Nokia, unlike other vendors, has promised to participate in the development of open RAN technology and have joined several industry alliances.
(Photos syndicated via Reuters)
This story has been edited by BH staff and is published from a syndicated field.