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Vodafone Extends 4G Rural Reach

/ 19th November 2020 /
Ed McKenna

Vodafone is to introduce a new technology that will allow faster and cheaper provision of 4G coverage in rural areas, in partnership with US tech company Parallel Wireless.

The company is already trialling Parallel’s Open Radio Access Network (Open RAN) technology in Co Kildare, and plans to bring Open RAN to 30 locations in the north-west, providing 4G service coverage “in a faster and more-cost efficient way”.

Conventionally in a radio access network, the hardware and software elements are from the same vendor and work closely in tandem with each other. The new Open RAN system allows telco operators to deploy their own software on generic hardware in the network.

This allows one supplier’s software to be integrated within another supplier’s radio and server hardware, and as a result, alternative, smaller vendors can now increase the supply of radio network access equipment and software — making the market more competitive by avoiding vendor lock-in, say the partners.

Vodafone Ireland is in step with the wider group on this technology, with the Vodafone Group promising to use Open RAN for at least 2,600 sites in Britain.

In Association with

Chief technology officer Didier Clavero  (pictured) commented: “Delivering Open RAN sites is a pivotal moment in the provision of mobile coverage to rural communities in Ireland, as this approach reduces cost, increases flexibility and enables new suppliers to support the expansion of Vodafone’s mobile network in hard to reach areas. 

“Focusing on the north-west region to begin with, we will continue to identify communities across Ireland where we can more economically introduce access to voice and high-speed data using the new technology.”

Parallel Wireless chief operating officer Keith Johnson added: “We are proud to support Vodafone Ireland as their strategic partner in helping them to reimagine wireless networks with Open RAN. As a leading innovator, Vodafone Ireland is setting the standard for providing better 4G experience for consumers and businesses.  By shifting networks to virtualised OpenRAN, quality coverage can be delivered to many new subscribers at much lower cost with faster time to market.”

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