Telefónica expands the Open RAN ecosystem by successfully validating its new 5G SA small cell

Telefónica is announcing today the successful validation of its new Open RAN all-in-one 5G Standalone small cell. The demonstration carried out by Node-H and Askey in Telefonica’s Technology & Automation Lab is a step forward to deliver highly performant, open, flexible, secure and reliable 5G services with small cells. With this ORAN-compliant solution Telefonica targets to increase the small cell ecosystem by delivering an innovative product that enables a wide range of use cases for different vertical markets.

The all-in-one 5G small cell, developed by Askey, is powered by the Qualcomm® FSM100 5G RAN Platform; a high performance and low power solution for small cells, and with Node-H’s scalable radio access, security, and management software. This small cell is a complete 5G base station that can be connected either directly to Telefónica’s macro network or to a local private 5G core. Moreover, the modular architecture of the small cell logically separates the CU, DU and RU functionalities following open and standard interfaces, which adds extra flexibility to the solution. With this approach, Telefónica expands its Open RAN portfolio and is one step closer to deploying tailored and highly-performant 5G open networks across a wide range of deployment models and sizes ranging from just a handful of cells to large campus networks.

Telefónica is confident that enlarging the 5G standalone small cell ecosystem contributes to enabling the full potential of 5G technology, such as the huge data capacity and short latency times that are designed into 5G networks, adding capabilities to already existing use cases and exploiting new opportunities.

“Together with our technology partners, we are expanding the 5G SA ecosystem, helping our customers on their digital transformation process, driving innovation across different scenarios”, says José Luis Esplá, Access and Devices Director in Telefónica GCTIO. “With Telefónica’s open interfaces approach we are transforming the way connectivity and services are provided, with high flexibility and simplicity while ensuring the highest performance and efficiency.“

“The business case for 5G private networks has received a huge boost through advances in the regulatory framework”, said Mike Cronin, CEO of Node-H. “This has the potential to unleash a large amount of private investment in a technology which merits that expenditure, bringing true 5G performance to those who can benefit from it.”

“Askey has more than 10 years of experience in design and manufacturing of small cells for mobile network operators,” said Robert Lin, CEO of Askey. “Having worked successfully with Node-H in 3G and 4G technologies, we are happy to continue our co-operation into the 5G era. Leveraging the Qualcomm® FSM100 5G RAN Platform and Node-H’s software, Askey’s product development will deliver attractive, affordable and functional all-in-one 5G Enterprise small cells to Telefónica.”

“The flexibility, interoperability and cost efficiency that Open RAN brings to 5G networks allows for a platform of innovation. The Qualcomm® FSM100 5G RAN Platform, with support for mmWave and Sub-6 GHz spectrum, is designed to improve network coverage, capacity and power efficiency, and aims to help accelerate the proliferation of 5G small cells globally by providing the ecosystem with the most advanced 5G technologies. We’re excited to collaborate with Telefónica, Node-H, and Askey in developing this comprehensive solution which is designed to quickly and easily allow the deployment of 5G for campuses, smart factories, venues, hospitals and offices.” said Dino Flore, Vice President, Technology, QUALCOMM Europe, Inc.