StarHub has completed Singapore's first Open Radio Access Network (Open RAN) call on its 5G network, marking a key development in telecommunications and highlighting its collaboration with NTT DOCOMO.
Representatives from NTT DOCOMO, Keysight Technologies, and Fujitsu observed the field trial at StarHub’s office, highlighting the significance of the launch.
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A "Vendor-Agnostic" Environment
“With the successful demonstration of our Open RAN, in collaboration with NTT DOCOMO, we are thrilled to be the first to bring it to market, marking this significant milestone for StarHub and Singapore,” said Ayush Sharma, Chief Technology Officer of StarHub. “This not only underscores our commitment to delivering first-of-its-kind innovations that afford enterprises greater value, flexibility and customizability to choose what is best to meet their needs, but also lets us vastly rethink how we approach network infrastructure differently.”
The Open-RAN approach offers enterprises the flexibility to customize components such as radios and base stations to fit their specific needs, unlike traditional Radio Access Networks. By decoupling these components, Open RAN enables a "vendor-agnostic" environment where standardized, open interfaces facilitate seamless integration of equipment from different vendors within a commercial or production core network. This adaptability helps enterprises select optimal components to meet their requirements and potentially lower costs. Additionally, Open RAN allows for network performance optimization based on user demands through RAN Intelligent Controllers.
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Market Readiness
“On top of giving MNOs the freedom of choice and lowering operational costs, Open RAN allows MNOs to keep up with the latest technology, freeing them from any particular provider’s roadmap,” said Sadayuki Abeta OREX Evangelist and Chief Open RAN Strategist of NTT DOCOMO and Chief Technology Officer of OREX SAI. “This opens the door to an infinite number of possibilities in how we build networks around the world, and NTT DOCOMO and OREX SAI are excited to partner with StarHub in this endeavor.”
StarHub’s Open RAN has been thoroughly validated by Keysight Technologies using its UeSIM UE Emulation RAN Solutions, which simulate real network traffic to test end-to-end Radio Access Network performance. This validation confirmed the reliability, performance, and implementation of DOCOMO OREX packages, proving the Open RAN’s readiness for market adoption. The system achieved a downlink throughput of up to 1.295 Gbps, an uplink throughput of 73.5 Mbps, and an average latency of 15 ms, demonstrating its readiness for consumer use.
StarHub and NTT DOCOMO are dedicated to furthering their collaboration to enhance and broaden Open RAN capabilities, driving technological advancements that will shape the future of communications in Singapore and beyond.
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