Ericsson and e& UAE complete 5G data call using Cloud RAN

Ericsson and e& UAE on Monday announced the successful completion of a 5G data call using Ericsson's Cloud Radio Access Network (RAN) architecture in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The trial is in line with e& UAE's increased interest in virtualization and cloud-native technologies for 5G network evolution.

"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," said Marwan BinShakar, SVP of Access Network Development at e& UAE.

Ericsson Cloud RAN is a cloud-native software solution that enables CSPs to seamlessly evolve towards cloud-native technologies and open network architectures. At its core, Cloud RAN disaggregates RAN software from hardware, allowing deployment on commercially available platforms, enhancing cost efficiency and operational agility, and driving network optimization and service innovation for e& UAE.

The testing environment was based on Ericsson’s Cloud RAN architecture with Selected Function Hardware Accelerator for a mid-band Massive MIMO deployment. Also known as a look-aside accelerator, the Selected Function Hardware Accelerator leaves the CPU free to use its cycles to process other useful tasks while the accelerator is working on the selected functions.

"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 centers, 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," said Ekow Nelson, Vice President and Head of Global Customer Unit for e& at Ericsson Middle East and Africa.