Tech giant Dell has opened doors to a €2 million telecoms research lab at its campus in Cork, Ireland – the first of such facilities to be launched outside of the US.

The Open Telecom Ecosystem Lab has been set up to test and deploy 5G and 6G innovations, in such areas as smart manufacturing, industry 4.0, and digital cities, and is intended to act as a point of collaboration between Dell engineers and telecom firms across the EMEA region, such as Vodafone, Ericsson, VMware and Druid Software.

It was officially launched by Irish Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Simon Coveney, TD, who said: “As emerging technology accelerates the pace of change within every sector of our economy, it has never been more important for technology leaders and telecom providers to work together to advance Ireland’s position as an innovation leader.

“This investment not only strengthens Ireland’s position as a hub for emerging technology but will also help create new business opportunities linked to 5G and the future roll-out of 6G. I want to congratulate Dell Technologies on this important milestone and look forward to seeing the Lab evolve and grow”

Bob Savage, regional CIO for EMEA and Cork site leader at Dell added: “We’re delighted to open Dell’s first ever Open Telecom Ecosystem Lab outside the US here at our campus in Cork. As telecoms providers look to accelerate the pace of digital transformation within their sector, the new Lab will provide an important space to collaborate, innovate and push the boundaries of an open and modern telecom system. Our talented team of engineers and leading industry partners such as Vodafone, Ericsson, VMware and Druid Software can accelerate the roll-out of next-generation services.”

Part of the thrust behind big tech firms spending money on telecoms research facilities is Open RAN, and the fact companies like Dell might play a greater role in producing network infrastructure in the future as a result of it. In an interview with Telecoms.com last year, Dell pointed to something of a fusion on the cards for the telco and wider technology sector related to this – you can read the full interview here.

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