Vodafone and Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. today announced that they are jointly cooperating with major silicon provider Marvell to accelerate the performance and adoption of 5G Open Radio Access Networks (RAN) across Europe.
In addition to Open RAN’s unique multi-vendor benefits, which allow operators to mix and match different software and hardware, this latest breakthrough also significantly improves the performance of future networks to even outperform existing single-supplier radio networks.
By incorporating Marvell’s advanced System-on-a-Chip (SoC) technology, specifically adapted for Open RAN, into the latest standard Commercial-Off-the-Shelf (COTS) servers, smartphone users are given a fast and reliable 5G connection using new open architecture.
The Marvell chipset – called the OCTEON Fusion® processor – works by taking on the heavy lifting calculations of the standard central processing unit (CPU) in existing virtualized mobile networks. Combined with Samsung’s virtualized RAN software, it speeds up the data processing required for a wide array of complex radio network functions, enabling the Open RAN system to deliver features, security and performance on par with traditional mobile radio networks, with further improvements to follow. This will also improve the energy efficiency of mobile sites by reducing the number of CPU cores required.
The specialised silicon chips commonly known as Accelerators, tailored for radio networks, can help to better handle the vast capacity demands in densely populated urban areas with enormous volumes of mobile traffic, as opposed to solely relying on a General Purpose Processor (GPP). Accelerators can deliver Massive MIMO – the technology developed to serve many customers in dense urban areas such as shopping centres, sports arenas, and business parks. This ‘acceleration’ in the Distributed Unit (DU) of the Open RAN architecture enhances the overall speed and reliability of any Open RAN mobile site.
Johan Wibergh, Chief Technology Officer of Vodafone, said: “Vodafone and Samsung are combining their technical leadership and embracing open standards with Marvell’s advanced silicon chipset. Together, we can deliver an Open RAN system with features and performance that rivals that of traditional mobile radio networks now, and can better them in future, whilst bringing much needed resilience to the vendor supply chain.”
Paul (Kyungwhoon) Cheun, President and Head of Networks Business at Samsung Electronics, said: “Samsung firmly believes that close partnerships with industry leaders expand the boundaries of technology. This collaboration with Vodafone and Marvell will foster the Open RAN environment, through which Samsung will continue to lead the expansion of the ecosystem.”
Raghib Hussain, President, Products and Technologies of Marvell, said: “Marvell is excited to broaden its strategic collaboration with Vodafone and Samsung with a shared commitment to enable Open RAN systems that meet the high expectations of established mobile radio networks. Our solution, which is O-RAN optimized and built on Marvell’s industry-leading 5G silicon, enables all the benefits of Open RAN without compromising features or performance.”
Vodafone, Samsung and Marvell have committed to continue to work together, and with the rest of the industry within the O-RAN Alliance, to make the separation of hardware and software the de facto standard. While the companies work towards this aim, it is essential to have options and flexibility to be able to use different suppliers. This collaboration is a major step towards an enriched ecosystem, which promotes innovation and helps in speeding up Open RAN technology adoption and maturity.
Today’s announcement also builds on Vodafone’s opening of Europe’s first dedicated R&D centre earlier this year for the advancement of microchip architecture to power Open RAN networks. The centre, housed in Vodafone’s new digital skills hub in Málaga, Spain, will be used by nearly 30 specialist vendors and is focused on establishing a strong ecosystem for silicon design in Europe.
About Vodafone Group
Unique in its scale as the largest pan-European and African technology communications company, Vodafone transforms the way we live and work through its innovation, technology, connectivity, platforms, products and services.
Vodafone operates mobile and fixed networks in 21 countries, and partners with mobile networks in 47 more. As of 30 June 2022, we had over 300m mobile customers, more than 28m fixed broadband customers and 22m TV customers. Vodafone is a world leader in the Internet of Things (IoT), connecting around 160m devices and platforms.
We have revolutionised fintech in Africa through M-Pesa, which celebrates its 15th anniversary in 2022. It is the region’s largest fintech platform, providing access to financial services for more than 50m people in a secure, affordable and convenient way.
Our purpose is to connect for a better future by using technology to improve lives, digitalise critical sectors and enable inclusive and sustainable digital societies.
We are committed to reducing our environmental impact to reach net zero emissions across our full value chain by 2040, while helping our customers reduce their own carbon emissions by 350m tonnes by 2030. We are driving action to reduce device waste and achieve our target to reuse, resell or recycle 100% of our network waste.
We believe in the power of connectivity and digital services to improve society and economies, partnering with governments to digitalise healthcare, education and agriculture and create cleaner, safer cities. Our products and services support the digitalisation of businesses, particularly small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
Our inclusion for all strategy seeks to ensure no-one is left behind through access to connectivity, digital skills and creating relevant products and services such as access to education, healthcare and finance. We are also committed to developing a diverse and inclusive workforce that reflects the customers and societies we serve.
For more information, please visit www.vodafone.com, follow us on Twitter at @VodafoneGroup or connect with us on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/company/vodafone.
About Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
Samsung inspires the world and shapes the future with transformative ideas and technologies. The company is redefining the worlds of TVs, smartphones, wearable devices, tablets, digital appliances, network systems, and memory, system LSI, foundry and LED solutions. For the latest news, please visit the Samsung Newsroom at news.samsung.com
About Marvell
To deliver the data infrastructure technology that connects the world, we're building solutions on the most powerful foundation: our partnerships with our customers. Trusted by the world's leading technology companies for over 25 years, we move, store, process and secure the world's data with semiconductor solutions designed for our customers' current needs and future ambitions. Through a process of deep collaboration and transparency, we're ultimately changing the way tomorrow's enterprise, cloud, automotive, and carrier architectures transform—for the better.
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