Qualcomm and NEC want to ‘drive the transition towards modern networks’ by simplifying deployments and lowering the total cost of ownership
Qualcomm Technologies and NEC last week announced that they are jointly developing a 5G open and virtualized distributed unit (DU). Powered by the Qualcomm X100 5G RAN Accelerator Card, the DU, said the pair, will “drive the transition towards modern networks” by simplifying deployments and lowering the total cost of ownership (TCO) by delivering high-performance, open radio access network (O-RAN)-compliant, energy-efficient, virtualized, cloud-native 5G solutions.
Highlighting the importance of such a collaboration, Durga Malladi, senior VP and GM of 5G, mobile broadband and infrastructure at Qualcomm, commented, “Joining forces with NEC is at the heart of advancing the cellular ecosystem and accelerating the innovation cycle to enable the fast track of deploying modern networks at scale.”
The partnership directly addresses the challenge that operators face of deploying cost-effective 5G network infrastructure at the same time that network and user demands are becoming more complex.
The solution will be developed under the 5G Open RAN Ecosystem (OREC) initiative. Led by NTT Docomo, the initiative aims to accelerate Open RAN around the world. According to the Japanese operator’s General Manager, Radio Access Network Development Department Sadayuki Abeta, the partnership between Qualcomm and NEC “will help drive […] OREC activities to make 5G RAN deployment more open and flexible with industry leaders.”
NEC Corporation’s General Manager, 2nd Wireless Access Solutions Division Katsumi Tanoue commented that customers can expect “a tremendous advantage” following the integration of Qualcomm 5G RAN Platforms within NEC O-RAN products, especially those that require high performance and power-efficient solutions.
“The Qualcomm X100 5G RAN Accelerator Card aims to deliver lower power and best-in-class performance to meet the performance demands at the edge and capture new revenue opportunities,” said Tanoue.
Malladi explained that open and virtualized RAN pose a “significant opportunity” for the telecom industry, adding that as a result, the company “is committed to driving more innovative and competitive cellular infrastructure to enable operators and industry verticals to efficiently deploy 5G network coverage and capacity where it is needed most with our comprehensive Qualcomm 5G RAN Platforms.”
