Utilizing equipment from several vendors, the Romanian deployment comes after trials conducted in the nation in 2023.
Samsung Electronics is providing baseband and radio equipment for the commercial rollout that supports 4G, 5G, and 2G.
Wind River software is utilized in conjunction with Dell Technologies servers.
Open RAN has great potential in the nation, according to Vodafone, which highlights that in the end, it will allow “operators to reduce costs by sharing all hardware components (for example radio units), while independently managing their own RAN software on a common cloud infrastructure.”
Furthermore, it cites network slicing as evidence for its belief that the architecture’s flexibility will enable its clients to benefit “full advantage” of standalone 5G.
The operator group has always been optimistic about the approach. It has been actively involved in the Telecom Infra Project for a number of years and has been a notable supporter.
According to Vodafone, open RAN equipment performed on par with or better than legacy kit in the majority of measurements during its commercial deployment in the UK and its European trials.
Chief network officer of Vodafone, Alberto Ripepi, discussed the company’s most recent launch, saying: “As new technologies like generative AI take root and are embedded within factories, businesses, and everyday online interactions, they will require intelligence-based networks powerful enough to support them.” That’s exactly what Open RAN is intended to do.
The company previously a six-year with Ericsson to modernize its infrastructure, and this announcement is the most recent in a month of network upgrades in Romania.