Orange Spain and friends launch Open RAN 5G SA pilot

Orange Spain has led a band of merry firms including HPE, Casa Systems, Mavenir and Dell Technologies, to deploy Open RAN nodes connected to a cloud native 5G SA core network.

This pilot has proven ‘the expected benefits of Open RAN technology combined with the advantages of 5G SA networks’, says the release. Such benefits apparently include a less than one hour deployment of the network ‘thanks to the automation capabilities enabled by these new technologies.’

Alongside this, ‘dynamic management of end-to-end virtual networks’ and optimization of energy consumption is held up as wins gained from the approach.

Orange Spain boasts this takes it a step a further step in its strategy of ‘technological leadership in the network’ after becoming the first operator in the country to commercially launch its 5G SA mobile network in February 2023. It also says it is ‘committed to virtualizing its networks.’

“OpenRAN’s innovative approach aligns perfectly with Orange’s commitment to deliver cutting-edge solutions for the benefit of our customers,” said Monica Sala, Network Director at Orange Spain. “This technology not only drives competition and innovation by welcoming new providers into this technology domain, but also significantly reduces operational and deployment costs through automation, resulting in more cost-effective services for our customers.

“In addition, the ability to accelerate the launch of new services ensures a dynamic network experience that quickly adapts to evolving customer needs. Orange Spain is proud to be leading the technological advancement, combining OpenRAN with our Cloud Native 5G SA network to deliver an unrivalled telecommunications experience for our customers.”

Alexis Salas, Director of Engineering at Orange Spain, added: “This pilot has allowed us to test in a real environment our vision of the future of telecommunications networks focused on the use of software and data as fundamental pillars. Specifically, we have implemented a 5G Stand-Alone network based on Open-Source Software running in our private Orange Cloud environment. This network has been deployed, operated and maintained using advanced solutions that aim both to improve the quality of service offered to the customer and to improve the energy efficiency of our operations.

“This pilot has not only allowed us to test the technology itself but has also been an opportunity to identify the new skills required and define the new processes that this network transformation entails. In short, this pilot has provided us with valuable information to further advance our vision of a smarter, more efficient grid that is focused on delivering continuous improvement of our customers’ experience.”

The tone is very triumphant, but that’s often the way with anything relating to Open RAN. In terms of the technical achievement, one of the most tangible things the above quotes push as a benefit of this approach is the cost savings, as well as how long it takes to deploy and the usual nods to more vendor competitiveness in the Open RAN model.

That Open RAN is cheaper than using a single vendor is a claim often made but usually left a bit vague as to what extent. If this were more concrete it would probably serve as a compelling factor in decision making for operators, but as with so much of the public comms around Open RAN, its sometimes hard to see the facts from the flag-waving. Regardless, in terms of the overall market the outlook could be brighter – according to analyst firm Dell’Oro, both Open RAN and vRAN revenues declined for the first time in Q2 2023.

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