NEC on Monday announced its establishment of an Open RAN laboratory in India as a complement to its Center of Excellence (CoE) in the U.K.
The facility will accelerate development of NEC's 5G open ecosystem by pre-integrating partner Open RAN components to form end-to-end commercial-ready solutions according to customer-specific needs. The solutions will undergo end-to-end practical validations on functional/operational performance and quality assurance throughout all layers of the RAN, from network and cloud to service layers. The lab will also be responsible for post-deployment trouble-shooting, life cycle management as well as continuous integration (CI), and continuous delivery (CD) of solutions.
NEC's capabilities are further enhanced by the orchestration, digital OSS, and automation technologies of its subsidiary Netcracker, resulting in more efficient operations and faster time to market. NEC aims to maximize the value of its open ecosystem by combining the aforementioned competencies with its advanced products and solutions, and with best-of-breed products from various partners at the forefront of innovation. Initial partners include Altiostar, GigaTera, and MTI, as NEC plans to expand its ecosystem with a broader group of partners in possession of cutting-edge technologies to accelerate operators' commercial adoption of Open RAN.
Kazuhiko Harasaki, Deputy General Manager, Service Provider Solutions Division, NEC
NEC will take leadership in curating pre-validated models and facilitating commercial, multi-vendor Open RAN deployment as a viable alternative 5G network for operators.
