Qualcomm Technologies and NEC last week announced a strategic collaboration in which they are partnering on the development of a 5G open and virtualized distributed unit (DU) powered by the Qualcomm X100 5G RAN Accelerator Card, to drive the transition towards modern networks.
This solution is to be developed under the 5G Open RAN Ecosystem (OREC) initiative, which is led by NTT DOCOMO with the objective to globally accelerate open RAN. The companies are joining forces to address the demands of next-generation networks, simplify deployments and lower the total cost of ownership by delivering high-performance, O-RAN-compliant, energy-efficient, virtualized, cloud-native 5G solutions.
Combining NEC Corporation’s experience as one of the world’s leaders in the integration of IT and network technologies with Qualcomm Technologies’ leadership in developing high performance and low power Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) 5G solutions for device and infrastructure products, the companies will partner to redefine how mobile networks are designed.
Network operators currently face the difficult challenge of deploying cost-effective 5G network infrastructure, while addressing the complexities and demands of next-generation networks that are needed to enhance user experiences. Qualcomm Technologies and NEC Corporation are addressing these issues by developing a high-performance, O-RAN compliant and power-efficient solution that will simplify and lower the total cost of ownership of 5G deployments.
Sadayuki Abeta, GM, Radio Access Network Development Department, NTT DOCOMO
We are excited about Qualcomm Technologies and NEC Corporation partnering to develop new generation cloud-native 5G RAN technology. The development of 5G open and virtualized DU solutions will help drive our OREC activities to make 5G RAN deployment more open and flexible with industry leaders.
Katsumi Tanoue, GM, 2nd Wireless Access Solutions Division, NEC Corporation
With the growth in open and virtualized networks, the integration of Qualcomm 5G RAN Platforms within NEC O-RAN products will provide a tremendous advantage to our customers, who demand high performance and power-efficient solutions for nearly any application.
