BARCELONA, Spain , Feb. 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Today at MWC Barcelona, the Telecom Infra Project (TIP) announced a new project group named Open RAN 5G NR led by co-chairs Sprint (NYSE: S) and Vodafone with support from several hardware, software and integration vendors including Airspan, Altiostar, Aricent (an Altran company), Arm, Intel, Parallel Wireless, TechMahindra and Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., a subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated.

The initial focus of the project group is the development of sub-6 GHz 5G NR small cells for outdoor and indoor use cases, with millimeter wave 5G NR small cells to follow. The Open RAN 5G NR project group aims to create an open reference design that leverages general purpose hardware, allowing operators to select best-of-breed hardware components coupled with open source software for a flexible modular 5G NR platform.

Based on operator input, the project group will develop modeling techniques and a test framework for specific applications and deployment scenarios using both standalone and non-standalone 5G NR wireless system architectures.

"Industry collaboration is a model that works," said Ron Marquardt , Vice President of Technology Innovation at Sprint. "With a vibrant community, the model streamlines processes and delivers a high volume of contributions, all leading to rapid innovation. We’re excited to co-chair this effort and help lead the development of sub-6 GHz 5G NR small cells based on open reference designs."

The Open RAN 5G NR project group will also coordinate with organizations such as 3GPP, O-RAN Alliance and others.