Qualcomm Technologies has launched a portfolio of 5G infrastructure semiconductor platforms to accelerate the operators transition toward virtualised and interoperable radio access networks (RAN), a trend driven by 5G.
The portfolio ranges from macro base stations with massive MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output) to micro base stations with compact designs, the company said in a statement.
Qualcomm Technologies is launching three new 5G RAN platform offerings - Qualcomm Radio Unit Platform, Qualcomm Distributed Unit Platform and Qualcomm Distributed Radio Unit Platform - designed to support mobile operators in deployment of a new generation of converged, open and virtualized RAN (vRAN) networks.
These also enable infrastructure Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) to transform public and private wireless networks into a platform for innovation and deliver on the full potential of 5G.
“Our 5G expertise and global technology leadership uniquely positions Qualcomm Technologies to provide a comprehensive horizontal infrastructure platform to enable the deployment of innovative, high-performance, virtualised and modular 5G networks at scale,” Qualcomm President Cristiano Amon said.
“We are working closely with mobile operators, network equipment vendors, standards bodies and other key stakeholders to make the deployments of these networks a reality,” he added.
The portfolio is designed to allow established and emerging network vendors to accelerate deployment and commercialisation of vRAN equipment and features that address the demands of 5G for both public and private networks.
The new platforms offer a fully scalable and highly flexible architecture that supports all 5G functional split options between Distributed Unit (DU) and Radio Unit (RU) for macro and micro deployments – complementing the Company’s current 5G RAN platform offerings for small cells.
The new solutions build on Qualcomm Technologies’ wireless expertise and delivering technology for cellular infrastructure, dating back to the commercialisation of 3G network equipment in the 1990s and 2000s to the provision of cellular chipsets for small cells over the last decade.
“Our long-standing collaboration with Qualcomm Technologies will accelerate the development of a full suite of 5G products and solutions, as Reliance Jio continues to support and drive open technologies in RAN,” said Mathew Oommen, president, Reliance Jio Infocomm.
“From Silicon to software all the functions of a software-defined RAN will get tested at Jio scale. These standards-based open RAN technologies along with the new Qualcomm 5G RAN Platforms will help to bridge the gigabit digital gap to deliver the Inclusive Digital Platform that is so much a necessity today for lives and livelihood in India and beyond,” he added.
Qualcomm Technologies’ infrastructure solutions already power the world’s first at-scale deployment of vRAN by Rakuten Mobile in Japan.