Intel, Juniper Networks, and Rakuten Symphony announced a collaborative effort to develop Symware, a carrier-grade Open RAN (O-RAN) solution for mobile network operators to modernize radio cell sites.
Rakuten Symphony is a new business organization promoted by Japanese carrier Rakuten Mobile, with the main aim of empowering the global adoption of cloud-native Open RAN infrastructure and services by mobile network operators, enterprises and government bodies.
The partners said that this Symware multipurpose edge appliance provides operators with the flexibility to densify their network, accommodate various network topologies, and support new features while reducing the required hardware per site.
The firms also noted that mobile network operators around the world are starting to deploy O-RAN and cloud-native architecture in their networks, which will provide them greater agility and enable smarter security.
“Rakuten Symphony constantly looks to introduce leading-edge innovations to accelerate network transformations,” said Tareq Amin, CEO of Rakuten Symphony and CTO of Rakuten Mobile. “With our partners, we have developed a cost-performance optimized appliance that simplifies the cell site deployment for 4G, 5G and future generations of mobile technology. Symware provides operators with the ultimate future-proof cell site solution that enables them to flexibly densify their network and accommodate various network topologies at the lowest cost.”
The Symware multipurpose edge appliance combines the containerized cell site routing functionality and a containerized Distributed Unit on a single general purpose server platform, which reduces the capital and operating expenditures for an operator.
The new solution also enables 5G network slicing features both in RAN and transport domains including slice isolation, slice monitoring and dynamic traffic steering through segment routing, according to the partners. The solution supports automation with zero-touch provisioning, rolling updates, telemetry and analytics for all the components, and is based on the Kubernetes ecosystem for orchestration and networking.
Dan Rodriguez, Intel corporate VP and general manager, Network Platforms Group, said: “We continue to see the industry shift to take advantage of the many benefits provided by the cloudification of the RAN. By utilizing our Next Generation Intel Xeon D Processors and FlexRANTM reference software, this collaboration showcases how RAN workloads can be consolidated onto a single server and meet the performance, capacity and cost requirements of 5G RAN deployments.”
Raj Yavatkar, Juniper’s CTO, stated: “Removing the obstacles of deploying O-RAN in disaggregated production networks is critical for 5G growth. Integrated routing and O-RAN in a single platform delivers cost and operational benefits for network operators. Combined with industry leading Intel technology and Rakuten’s DU software, Juniper’s disaggregated and state-of-the-art routing stack offers operators a unique solution for delivering differentiated 5G services including network slicing.”
The new offering was developed with Rakuten Symphony’s know-how and experience with cloud-native and Open RAN-based networks, containerized RAN software from Altiostar, Intel Xeon D Processors and FlexRANTM reference software, and Juniper’s carrier-hardened cloud-native routing stack
The partners said that the Symware solution will be commercially available in the first half of 2022 through Rakuten Symphony.
In related news, Rakuten Mobile recently announced an agreement to acquire Estmob, a South Korean peer-to-peer file transfer solution start-up. The Japanese carrier said that the acquisition will establish a research and development presence in South Korea for Rakuten Symphony.
