Ericsson Jumps On the O-RAN Alliance Bandwagon

Ericsson is the latest big-named vendor to join the O-RAN Alliance, which is looking to form an open standards-based consensus for virtualizing the radio access network (RAN). This virtualized RAN architecture is seen as key to 5G network deployments. The Swedish vendor will focus its O-RAN Alliance efforts on the open connections between the RAN and network orchestration and automation. This includes using artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled closed-loop automation and end-to-end optimization to lower operating costs and improve network performance. “Our ambition is to actively support and drive discussions and developments around future RAN architectures and open interfaces,” explained Ericsson CTO Erik Ekudden, in a statement. The O-RAN Alliance was initially formed last summer by the merger of the xRAN Forum and C-RAN Alliance. It has since established seven working groups that look at use cases and architecture, radio intelligent controller, fronthaul, stack reference design, cloudification and orchestration, resource information and control, and white-box hardware.