Nokia and Vodafone trial Open RAN with Arm and HPE

Nokia and Vodafone successfully complete Open RAN lab testing on an Arm Neoverse-based compute platform, in collaboration with industry partners Arm and HPE.

  • Thursday, 9th May 2024 Posted 6 months ago in by Phil Alsop

Nokia and Vodafone have announced the successful completion of a trial, leveraging Nokia’s anyRAN approach in collaboration with partners Arm and Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE). The live demonstration, held at Nokia’s Open RAN Innovation Center in Dallas, Texas, showcased the completion of an end-to-end Layer 3 (L3) data call.

To achieve this milestone, the test platform utilized leading technologies including Ampere® Arm-based general-purpose processors, the HPE ProLiant RL300 server, Nokia’s Layer 1 (L1) accelerator, and Nokia’s RAN software. To complement the 5G Standalone (SA) RAN architecture, Nokia integrated its 5G SA Compact Mobility Unit (CMU) Core.

The trial took place over-the-air with Nokia’s AirScale massive MIMO radios on the n78 spectrum band (3.5 GHz band). Additionally, Nokia’s intelligent MantaRay NM network management system provided a consolidated network view for improved monitoring and management.

During the demonstration, the data calls were successfully conducted using commercial user devices. The trial shows that the introduction of Arm Neoverse™-based processors on HPE servers within the Nokia anyRAN approach will provide operators, including Vodafone, with enhanced supplier diversity and efficiency advantages of the latest silicon technology.

Francisco Martin, Head of Open RAN at Vodafone, said: “Vodafone is dedicated to supporting the development and adoption of Open RAN platforms by fostering a diverse ecosystem of silicon solutions. The approach offers numerous benefits, including increased choice, enhanced energy efficiency, higher network capacity, and improved performance in wireless networks. We are excited to collaborate with Nokia, Arm, and HPE in this live demonstration, and the initial results have been promising, paving the way for future commercialization.”

Mark Atkinson, Head of RAN at Nokia, said: “Achieving future computing evolution requires a flexible approach to RAN deployments, allowing freedom of choice in server hardware, general-purpose processors and cloud platforms. This trial not only builds upon past accomplishments but also solidifies Nokia's leadership in Open RAN innovation. It is another testament to the openness of Nokia's anyRAN approach, ensuring consistent performance of Open RAN while empowering operators with more options to build their networks.”

Guardz expands in EMEA

Posted 4 days ago by Phil Alsop
Through a new partnership with Infinigate Cloud, Guardz will help to secure SMBs and support the MSP community across EMEA.
Data centre operators can now achieve the unparalleled speeds needed for the most demanding Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications, thanks to a...

Dell Technologies boosts AI for enterprises

Posted 4 days ago by Phil Alsop
Dell Technologies continues to make enterprise AI adoption easier with the Dell AI Factory, expanding the world’s broadest AI solutions portfolio....

AMD accelerates Exascale Computing

Posted 4 days ago by Phil Alsop
El Capitan, powered by the AMD Instinct MI300A APU, becomes the second AMD supercomputer to surpass the Exascale barrier, placing #1 on the Top500...
Global system integrator won over by simplicity, security and speed of the Cloudbrink service.
The Seeq platform will be leveraged to maximize production and increase energy efficiency across the largest biorefinery in Europe.
This global service forms part of the recently launched Intelligent Security portfolio and increases Logicalis' proactive threat-hunting capabilities...

Pure Storage invests in CoreWeave

Posted 5 days ago by Phil Alsop
Pure Storage and CoreWeave have announced Pure Storage’s strategic investment in CoreWeave to accelerate AI cloud services innovation. Alongside...