Mavenir, the Network Software Provider building the future of networks with cloud-native software that runs on any cloud and transforms the way the world connects, today announced to have won the SCF Small Cell Awards 2022 for Outstanding Contribution to Emerging Technology or Architecture, for its design and delivery of the first fully containerized small cell Open Virtualized Radio Access Network (Open vRAN), for indoor and outdoor connectivity.
Mavenir’s containerized Open vRAN solution is a first of its kind and combines the interoperability of Open RAN with the portability and flexibility of containers. This small cell solution brings the same future-forward approaches of Open RAN and containerization having significant impacts in macro networks to small cell networks.
The deployment of a containerized solution is a significant milestone in the evolution of connectivity, moving away from the physical infrastructure to a digital cloud-based environment. Containers take virtualization to the next step, allowing network workloads to run anywhere; on-premise, private cloud, or public cloud. The same solution can be easily moved to a different platform without any changes, producing the best utilization of resources at the best price. Containerization provides greater flexibility but also significant benefits in terms of speed and cost of deployment. Movement of network functions to a different platform can be done in minutes.
Combining Open RAN and containerization in a single architecture brings:
- New revenue streams by lowering profitability threshold for small cell deployments
- Greater flexibility to manage workloads
- Increased pool of suppliers and fostering of innovation
Presenting the award at the Small Cell World Summit, Caroline Gabriel, Rethink Technology Research: “The judges were excited by this solution because it has combined two important technologies in a way that contributes to a key goal for operators – fully distributed load and traffic management. This will be very important for making virtualized small cell networks scalable and efficient.”
The containerized Open vRAN architecture is complemented by Mavenir’s OpenBeam radio portfolio, designed to address a wide range of use cases, including basic coverage across all frequency bands, outdoor small cells, urban and rural.
Mavenir’s small cell delivery combining Open RAN and containerization is currently deployed by Vodafone UK for indoor and outdoor connectivity, and being implemented in a 4G/5G Open RAN pilot with Türk Telekom.
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