Deutsche Telekom is preparing Open RAN rollout for 2021

Deutsche Telekom has committed to a pretty small and targeted deployment of Open RAN  technology in 2021, the firm revealed as part of an update on its mobile as well as fixed broadband network rollout plans.

This operator is one of the most fans of Open RAN, it claims that it will certainly undertake an initial deployment in Neubrandenburg, a town of almost 65,000 homeowners north of Berlin, which it will certainly refer to as “O-RAN-Town.”.

It will certainly release disaggregated radio access network equipment at 25 “O-RAN compatible sites ” that will certainly give 4G and also 5G services. DT states it is dealing with a series of technology partners on the development, including Dell, Fujitsu, NEC, Nokia, Mavenir and others.

Claudia Nemat, Chief Technology Officer stated ” Open RAN has gained considerable momentum. The technical standards & interfaces aim at an open and fully interoperable RAN – for even better customer experiences in our networks. We are pleased to have strong partners

However this isn’t set to lead to an explosion in Open RAN implementations across the DT network in the short term: This is just one more step in the validation procedure as there is still much work to be done on Open RAN architectures and supporting innovation elements, as Alex Choi, SVP of Modern Technology Approach & Technology at the huge German operator, stated.
He noted that it’s tough to examine the present standing of overall Open  RAN-compliant solutions in regards to their viability for widescale commercial implementation, however noted that “my guess would be that we still require 2 to 3 years before winding up with a cost-efficient and service provider grade, full performance, substantial MIMO-ready Open RAN services. Perhaps some parts, besides the open fronthaul, may take more than three years to come up with a complete blown solution.”.

The crucial technical obstacle is evolving cloud technologies so they are optimized for “licensed spectrum-based cellular radio resources” and also to adress to obstacles in the data transport networks, he kept in mind, before including that these challenges are addressable and that “a raising variety of programmers” are dealing with the suitable options in bodies such as the O-RAN Alliance as well as Telecommunications Infra project (TIP).

Choi kept in mind that, depending on the result of trials as well as laboratory Tests, Deutsche Telekom has “the aspiration to ensure Open RAN-compliant modern technology is ready for mass deployment in the brownfield environment by 2023 to 2024.”