Page 45 - SAMENA Trends - October 2021

ARTICLE SAMENA TRENDS

Open RAN system will help us not only Xeon scalable processors by leveraging its Etisalat’s strategic goal
extend our initial investment, but also help AI/ML capabilities.
us innovate and bring new services quickly is to build and grow wire-
now and in the future.” Such new hardware features combined less networks to provide
with AI/ML tools and optimised
In April of 2021, Etisalat announced a Software Development Kits (SDK) next-generation digital
partnership with Parallel Wireless to software optimisations greatly enhance services to its customers
deliver central Asia’s first Open RAN the performance of telco domain AI in the region by assem-
implementation. When completed, the applications.
implementation will be the world’s first bling viable solutions that
cloud-native O-RAN-compliant 5G 4G Etisalat Afghanistan achieved greater build on an open and mod-
3G 2G Open RAN solution.The solution is agility, resilience and portability
being developed in collaboration with Intel The easy scale-out and hardware ular architecture, improv-
on a hardware platform based on Intel decoupling of Open RAN in Afghanistan ing service agility through
provided greater agility, resilience and cloudification, reduce op-
“With Open RAN and its portability across cloud environments for erational costs across
greater TCO savings.
inherent features of vir- geographically distributed

tualisation and automa- Etisalat was able to replace legacy sites with automation.
tion Etisalat will be able to 2G/3G/4G systems with Remote Radio
(RRUs) from the Open RAN radio hardware
meet the needs of our cus- ecosystem with white box solutions that Etisalat expects that Open RAN will
tomers cost-effectively in will be able to be upgraded to 5G in the open the door to greater competition
future.
among vendors, enabling the company to
central Asia and beyond. evaluate solutions from a larger pool of
An Open RAN system will Etisalat’s strategic goal is to build and telecom vendors. Greater competition and
grow wireless networks to provide
help us not only extend our next-generation digital services to its innovation will lead to improved OPEX and
CAPEX. Etisalat also believes that software
initial investment, but also customers in the region by assembling will emerge as the primary component in
help us innovate and bring viable solutions that build on an open and the telecommunications industry and
modular architecture, improving service
will facilitate the introduction of AI to its
new services quickly now agility through cloudification, reduce portfolio of products.
and in the future.” operational costs across geographically
distributed sites with automation.

(Excerpts from a white paper on the vital roles of the RAN intelligent controller and automation in Open RAN created by Etisalat and Parallel Wireless)

45 OCTOBER 2021