Mavenir in Commercial Phase of Open RAN Ahead of Large-Scale Deployment for India’s Vodafone Idea

With Mavenir’s Open RAN CU and DU deployed on Telco Cloud built on Red Hat OpenShift.

BARCELONA, Spain–(BUSINESS WIRE)–#India–Mavenir, the cloud-native network infrastructure provider building the future of networks, today announces that it is in the advanced commercial phase of an Open RAN network pilot deployment for Vodafone Idea Limited (Vi). The deployment now underway, which commenced in September 2023, covers key launch sites and is currently carrying live commercial traffic ahead of a planned large-scale deployment. The pilot marks the first O-RAN-compliant deployment into Vodafone Idea’s network, utilising the N78 and N258 millimeter-wave (mmWave) spectrum bands and B1 supporting NSA architecture.

Mavenir and Red Hat continue to work with customers and partners to offer one of the strongest open RAN ecosystems available today. In this instance, Mavenir is providing a complete, end-to-end cloud-native Open RAN system for the Indian operator – incorporating a Distributed Unit (DU) solution based on commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) hardware and Mavenir’s scalable and modular OpenBeam™ Radios, Centralized Unit (CU) plus full Mavenir Remote Radio Unit (RRU) and RAN software capabilities all running on Red Hat OpenShift, the industry’s leading hybrid cloud application platform powered by Kubernetes, – optimised for deployment in urban environments.

Commenting on the deployment, Jagbir Singh, Chief Technical Officer of Vodafone Idea, said, “We are proud to be demonstrating our leadership in exploring next-generation radio solutions that can deliver sustainable advantages to our business and to our customers. This Open RAN deployment, delivered through Mavenir’s innovation and joint technological strategic initiatives, is in sync with our technology transformation roadmap and enriched vendor ecosystem. Working in partnership with solution of Mavenir, we see a major role ahead for Open RAN technology in delivering the network enhanced capabilities, better TCO and open interfaces that will push the industry forward in new ways.”

BG Kumar, President Access Networks, Platforms, and Digital Enablement at Mavenir, said: “Vodafone Idea is leading the way in bringing the clear benefits of Open RAN technology to the Indian market, which is characterized by unique challenges and opportunities, including its very large subscriber base, high level of population density and diverse deployment environments. Mavenir is actively engaged in building out the ecosystem that will deliver next-generation Open RAN technology platforms enhancing customer experience across India – powering greater growth, flexibility, customisation and customer-focused innovation, while driving down CapEx and OpEx for operators.”

Honoré LaBourdette, acting senior vice president, Global Telco, and vice president, Telco, Media and Entertainment Partner Ecosystem, Red Hat, said: “Red Hat is dedicated to helping service providers implement open RAN solutions for more freedom of choice and new 5G use cases like 5G core, edge computing, AI/ML and more. By collaborating with Mavenir, Red Hat OpenShift helps provide Vodafone Idea with a reliable platform that can scale to meet their customer’s needs.”

Red Hat, the Red Hat logo and OpenShift are trademarks or registered trademarks of Red Hat, Inc. or its subsidiaries in the U.S. and other countries.

About Vodafone Idea

Vodafone Idea Limited is an Aditya Birla Group and Vodafone Group partnership. It is amongst India’s leading telecom service provider. The company provides pan India Voice and Data services across 2G, 3G and 4G platforms. Company holds large spectrum portfolio including mid band 5G spectrum in 17 circles and mmWave 5G spectrum in 16 circles. To support the growing demand for data and voice, the company is committed to deliver delightful customer experiences and contribute towards creating a truly ‘Digital India’ by enabling millions of citizens to connect and build a better tomorrow. The company is developing infrastructure to introduce newer and smarter technologies, making both retail and enterprise customers future ready with innovative offerings, conveniently accessible through an ecosystem of digital channels as well as extensive on-ground presence. The company’s equity share are listed on National Stock Exchange (NSE) and the BSE in India. The company offers products and services to its customers in India under the TM Brand name “Vi”.

For more information, please visit: www.MyVi.in

About Mavenir:

Mavenir is building the future of networks today with cloud-native, AI-enabled solutions which are green by design, empowering operators to realize the benefits of 5G and achieve intelligent, automated, programmable networks. As the pioneer of Open RAN and a proven industry disruptor, Mavenir’s award-winning solutions are delivering automation and monetization across mobile networks globally, accelerating software network transformation for 300+ Communications Service Providers in over 120 countries, which serve more than 50% of the world’s subscriber. www.mavenir.com

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Contacts

Mavenir PR Contacts:  

Emmanuela Spiteri   

PR@mavenir.com