Members of the open-source Telecom Infra Project (TIP), including Aricent, announced a partnership with India’s Tech Mahindra to develop a virtualized LTE RAN reference platform under the guidance of CableLabs.
The aim is to enable cable network providers to provide 4G RAN services over their existing DOCSIS network, using platforms developed under the TIP consortium.
The new reference platform uses a functional split known as 3GPP Option 7-x and includes protocols for fronthaul. Improvements to RAN layer 1 and Layer 2 from Phluido and Aricent help cable operators overcome DOCSIS challenges including latency, jitter, and limited capacity. The companies say that this helps make the existing DOCSIS network infrastructure effective for fronthaul transport and enables cable operators to benefit from RAN virtualization and centralization.
The reference solution uses an Aricent LTE RAN software framework built on cloud-RAN architecture and has LTE Layer 3 and Layer 2 integrated with Phluido’s virtualized Layer 1 and Benetel’s Remote Radio Unit. The RRU delivers a platform that can support both 4G and 5G networks.
“As a trusted intermediary, we are truly excited to be the system integrator and the deployment partner for TIP’s RAN ecosystem. TIP RAN project groups are paving the way for a truly open, virtualized and dis-aggregated RAN which is critical for connecting the unconnected and for cost effective capacity augmentation in dense urban population areas. Open, virtualized and dis-aggregated RAN will be an essential building block of the 5G network and for enabling end-to-end network slicing.” said Arunmozhi Balasubramanian, senior VP of Network Services – Solutions & Strategy at Tech Mahindra, in a statement.