Vodafone Group announced it will install new Open RAN sites in 20 cities across Romania, to enhance industrial efficiency and boost innovation in the country.
In a statement, the operator said an open architecture enables it to buy equipment and software from a range of suppliers which will result in more innovation and energy efficiency. Customers will benefit from a faster and more secure network that can be scaled to meet peak demand, and tap into new cloud-based services.
Several partners will be used for the 20 sites including Samsung for Vodafone’s 2G, 4G and 5G radio and baseband units. Dell Technologies servers will be used for cloud-based Open RAN workloads, and Containers as a Service (CaaS) software from US-based Wind River.
This announcement follows trials with Samsung in the country last year. It builds on other European trials including in the UK where 2,500 sites were deployed in August 2023.
Vodafone found Open RAN performance had been on par or exceeded legacy equipment in most measurements, including 4G and 5G call success rate, download and upload speeds across multiple spectrum frequencies.
The operator noted an Open RAN architecture eventually allows it to reduce costs by sharing all hardware components while independently managing its own RAN software on a common cloud infrastructure.
As a result, operators can then tailor services and capacity specific to customer needs while securing data. Open RAN also enables subscribers to take advantage of 5G standalone when it is deployed.
Vodafone Group chief network officer Alberto Ripepi said: “The momentum behind Open RAN technologies is building, in Vodafone and amongst our partners, as we focus on enhancing the customer experience. As new technologies like generative AI take root and are embedded within businesses, factories, and every day online interactions, they will require intelligence-based networks powerful enough to support them. Open RAN is designed to do just that.”
