Qualcomm Acquires Cellwize to Accelerate 5G Adoption and Spur Network Infrastructure Innovation at the Edge

Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. today announced that it has acquired Cellwize Wireless Technologies Pte. Ltd., a leader in mobile network automation and management to further accelerate Qualcomm Technologies as a leader in 5G Radio Access Networks (RAN) innovation and adoption. Cellwize’s 5G network deployment, automation, and management software platform capabilities further strengthens Qualcomm Technologies’ 5G infrastructure solutions to fuel the digital transformation of industries, power the connected intelligent edge, and support the growth of the cloud economy.

The addition of Cellwize’s leading cloud-native, multi-vendor RAN automation and management platform with Qualcomm Technologies’ industry-leading 5G RAN offerings is anticipated to provide:

• Leading RAN automation and management software solution which will accelerate the development of the connected intelligent edge through the deployment 5G private and public networks by reducing network deployment time and simplifying network management
• Programmable solution enabling an application ecosystem (marketplace) for differentiation and customization across several vertical industries
• Horizontal solution enabling a simple management of multi-vendor ecosystem for open virtualized networks
• Flexible RAN architecture solution (Open RAN, virtualized RAN, and traditional RAN) and multigenerational support

“Global mobile operators and private enterprises are deploying 5G networks at an unprecedented pace across industries with the goal of connecting everyone and everything to the cloud,” said Durga Malladi, senior vice president and general manager, cellular modems and infrastructure, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. “The addition of Cellwize’s best-in-class RAN automation technologies strengthens Qualcomm Technologies’ ability to drive the development of the modern 5G network – accelerating Open RAN global adoption, cloud-based cellular infrastructure innovation and 5G private network deployments.”  

“We are excited to join Qualcomm Technologies as we are both committed to accelerate the mission to modernize Radio Access Networks and enable mobile network operators and enterprises to fully realize and monetize their digital transformation,” said Ofir Zemer, former chief executive officer, Cellwize, who now is vice president, product management, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.

Qualcomm is a leader in the advancement of 5G to power the connected intelligent edge and enable the cloud economy. Building on its broad 5G RAN portfolio, Qualcomm is at the heart of advancing the cellular ecosystem and accelerating the innovation cycle to fast track the deployment of modern 5G networks at scale.

Industry leaders shared the following thoughts on the acquisition:

“Bell welcomes Qualcomm Technologies’ acquisition of Cellwize as the synergy will help advance the telecom ecosystem by delivering open, cloud-native and flexible networks to meet the performance demands at the edge. We look forward to continue working with them on infrastructure and automation innovation to ensure a more customer-centric network of the future,” said Stephen Howe, chief technology and information officer, Bell.

“As the network complexity increases driven by wide variety of frequency bands, massive MIMO and multi vendor disaggregated network (Open RAN), network automation and orchestration is key to manage this complexity and realize operational efficiencies. We are pleased with this announcement as Cellwize, in which we have been invested through DTCP since 2018, is well positioned to help automate and orchestrate the next generation network experience. We look forward to continuing working with Qualcomm Technologies and Cellwize on the next phase of automation,” said Abdurazak Mudesir, group chief technology officer, Deutsche Telekom.

“HPE is pleased with this announcement as it helps further consolidate and accelerate our joint value proposition with Qualcomm Technologies and Cellwize, two strategic partners with whom we have been working closely. HPE’s leadership in Telco infrastructure, specifically in end-to-end automation and operations support systems, together with Qualcomm Technologies leading RAN platform and Cellwize’s RAN Automation and management solution, represents a winning combination to address the RAN disaggregation market opportunity and accelerate its adoption in the Telco Industry,” said Domenico Convertino, vice president, product management, HPE Communications Technology Group. “We are looking forward to continue working together to provide our customers with new capabilities which will help simplify operations, manage multi-vendor 5G networks, and enable them to deploy 5G faster.”

“The Microsoft Azure private MEC solution, together with Qualcomm Technologies’ leading RAN platform and Cellwize’s RAN Automation and management solution, represents a powerful combination that will help accelerate 5G adoption and simplify deployment and management of intelligent 5G edges for a broad range of industries and use cases,” said Martin Lund, corporate vice president, Azure for Operators.

“Verizon has been at the forefront of developing a differentiated 5G network that will serve as the 21^st century platform for innovation,” said Ed Chan, chief technology officer, Verizon. “RAN optimization through automation is key in achieving this vision. We are very pleased to see Qualcomm Technologies expanding its already innovative infrastructure solutions with the acquisition of Cellwize’s RAN automation and management solution which we have been utilizing as our foundation to the Verizon SON architecture. We look forward to continuing our close collaboration with Qualcomm Technologies on building the future 5G world.”

“Network orchestration and automation will play a fundamental role in Open RAN deployments to manage and optimize multi-vendor networks. We are pleased with this announcement and we are looking forward to working with Qualcomm Technologies and Cellwize to test their solution in Vodafone’s network as we ramp up our ORAN deployment," said Santiago Tenorio, network architecture director, Vodafone.

DLA Piper acted as lead legal counsel and Fischer (FBC & Co.) acted as local counsel to Qualcomm Technologies. Evercore acted as financial advisors to Cellwize, and Goldfarb Seligman and Co. acted as legal counsel.