Ericsson, e& UAE complete Cloud RAN trial in the UAE

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UAE - Ericsson, in partnership with e& UAE, has successfully conducted a 5G data call using Ericsson’s Cloud Radio Access Network (RAN) architecture in a lab environment in the UAE.

The setup relied on a 5G non-standalone (NSA) solution for a mid-band carrier of 100MHz, deployed on a Massive MIMO radio where, the RAN Compute baseband function was running on commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) hardware supported with a Selected Function Hardware Accelerator (also known as ‘look-aside accelerator’).

This Ericsson Cloud RAN trial is in line with the Cloud RAN Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by the two organisations at GITEX GLOBAL 2023 in Dubai, UAE. The results revealed that the Ericsson Cloud RAN solution meets e& UAE’s expectations in terms of performance and is ready to support their 5G network evolution plan.

Cloud-native principles

Ericsson Cloud RAN is based on cloud-native principles and open architecture with standardised interfaces compatible with the deployed Ericsson Radio System products and solutions, enabling e& UAE to evolve its network to its architecture of choice.

At its core, Cloud RAN disaggregates RAN software from hardware, allowing deployment on commercially available platforms. This shift to software-defined functionality enhances cost efficiency and operational agility, driving network optimisation and service innovation for e& UAE.

Marwan BinShakar, SVP of Access Network Development at e& UAE, says: “We, along with our partner Ericsson, have a long-standing commitment to delivering a world-class network using the latest solutions in the telecom industry to provide superior customer experience. This new milestone marks an important step forward on e& UAE’s 5G evolutionary path as it opens the door to the next generation of high-quality connectivity, empowering our customers for the future.”

Deploy and scale

Ekow Nelson, Vice President and Head of Global Customer Unit for e& at Ericsson Middle East and Africa, says: “Ericsson Cloud RAN leverages the capabilities of Cloud native technologies to deploy and scale mobile networks flexibly and efficiently without performance trade-offs. The flexibility to place RAN functions in a distributed deployment in existing data centres, public cloud, or at the edge of the network will enable providers to scale compute resources efficiently and for different use cases as needed.

“It also paves the way for e& UAE to offer private networks that integrate seamlessly with Enterprise’s IT and Cloud processes and tools, enabling new business models. The proof of concept comes at a timely moment and is a testament to Ericsson’s commitment to openness without compromising on performance and experience.”