1&1 said its partners in the O-RAN project are Rakuten Mobile and Mavenir
German operator 1&1 confirmed that Open RAN (O-RAN) is fully functional and available throughout the country on its 5G network.
The German carrier said that the O-RAN deployment is being supported by vendors Rakuten Symphony and Mavenir.
In a joint statement, the companies stated 1&1’s O-RAN infrastructure is now being used to provide mobile broadband services, adding to a fixed wireless access (FWA) service 1&1 had launched using O-RAN technology in December 2022.
The German operator stated it is still deploying its O-RAN network nationwide. The partners said that the network control of the cloud-native O-RAN is carried out via the software and platform from Rakuten Symphony, along with a core network from Mavenir. Rakuten Symphony, which is part of Rakuten Group, is responsible for the end-to-end integration of the network.
“All network functions are located in our private cloud and are controlled by software. This comes mainly from Rakuten and Mavenir. As system integrator, Rakuten also ensures that all network components interact smoothly. In this way, 1&1 benefits from the extensive experience that Rakuten has gained in recent years in operating the world’s first O- RAN in Japan. The full functionality of the 1&1 O-RAN is a major milestone in our company’s history,” said Ralph Dommermuth, CEO of 1&1 AG.
“As the first provider in Europe to operate a commercial O-RAN network, 1&1 has created a digital beacon with its innovative mobile network. As end-to-end technology partner for 1&1’s network, Rakuten is delivering the efficient and highly automated control of the antennas in the 1&1 Open RAN. Using our specially developed orchestration software, we serve as system integrator to ensure that core network applications interact seamlessly with all other software and hardware components in the 1&1 O-RAN,” said Mickey Mikitani, chairman and CEO at Rakuten Group.
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1&1 previously said that it aims to provide 5G services to a quarter of German households by the end of 2025 and to half of them by the end of 2030.
In August, 1&1 said it has signed a long-term roaming deal with compatriot operator Vodafone Germany, which will enable the provision of 5G service at a national level.
Under the terms of the binding agreement, the two parties committed to finish up a final national roaming cooperation as soon as possible. The national roaming cooperation will include the “non-discriminatory provision” of national roaming services in areas that are not yet covered by the new 1&1 mobile network and will comprise the access to Vodafone’s 2G, 4G and 5G networks as well as future mobile standards and technologies.
Vodafone will start providing roaming services one year after the conclusion of the final national roaming cooperation or October 1, 2024 at the latest. The roaming cooperation with Vodafone will be valid for an initial period of five years, which can then be extended by a further 13 years.
The German operator also has an ongoing roaming deal with Telefonica, which is expected to expire in June 2025.