DU, a telecom and digital services provider, has deployed 5G Cloud RAN solution to enhance network’s efficiency and flexibility.
DU’s hybrid RAN strategy to deploy the first commercial 5G Cloud RAN solution in the Middle East and Africa region leverages both purpose-built and cloud-native infrastructures for flexibility and scalability.
The deployment of 5G Cloud RAN solution supports the UAE’s digital requirements as well as use cases, including AI, machine learning, and industry-specific applications in manufacturing, energy, and logistics.
The 5G Cloud RAN site deployed in Abu Dhabi based on Nokia’s flexible anyRAN approach included Nokia’s virtualized Distributed Units (vDU) and Centralized Units (vCU) running on Dell PowerEdge XR8620 servers, and Red Hat OpenShift.
DU has the option to better scale their 5G network footprint and quickly introduce new services by integrating with Red Hat OpenShift. They also utilized Nokia’s AirScale Massive MIMO Radios operating in the 3.6 GHz (n78) spectrum frequency, using 5G Standalone architecture.
Nokia’s commercial Cloud RAN solution can co-exist with purpose-built networks in hybrid environments and evolve to full cloud-native networks, supporting the rising demand for RAN cloudification. Common Nokia RAN software ensures feature and performance consistency of Cloud RAN and purpose-built RAN across the entire commercial footprint.
Saleem Alblooshi, Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of du, said: “Leveraging 5G Cloud RAN will not only enhance our network’s efficiency and flexibility but also enable us to explore new opportunities and services that can deliver genuine value to our customers and society at large.”
Mark Atkinson, Head of RAN at Nokia, said: “Under our anyRAN approach, we bring together Nokia’s expertise, trusted performance, and innovation in radio networks with best-in-class partner solutions to offer true flexibility and scalability to operators and enterprises.”
