Veon and Airspan to collaborate on solutions supporting Ukraine’s resilience

Dubai and Kyiv – VEON Ltd. (Nasdaq: VEON), a global digital operator, today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (“MoU”) with Airspan Networks Holdings LLC (“Airspan”), a U.S.-based provider of Open RAN solutions and network infrastructure.

The collaboration will explore opportunities for the development, deployment, and testing of innovative network solutions tailored and enhancing communications infrastructure resilience in extreme conditions, leveraging advanced wireless technologies such as Open RAN and Air-to-Land network solutions.

“VEON and Kyivstar have committed to investing USD 1 billion to rebuild Ukraine’s digital infrastructure over 2023-2027. This includes upgrading and expanding our mobile network and equipping it with most advanced capabilities to keep Ukraine connected such as Open RAN, direct-to-cell satellite connectivity and air-to-land solutions.  We look forward to working with Airspan to explore opportunities as a part of our commitment to the country’s resilience and rebuilding,” said VEON Group CEO Kaan Terzioglu.

“Reliable connectivity is critical for Ukraine’s resilience and rebuilding. Airspan brings extensive expertise having built the largest Open RAN networks globally. We look forward to collaborating with VEON and Kyivstar to explore innovative technologies that enhance network resilience and keep communities connected in even the most challenging conditions”, said Glenn Laxdal, CEO at Airspan.

With successful experience building the world’s first nationwide 4/5G ORAN network in Japan and the largest geographical Open RAN Network in the US, Airspan Networks brings significant expertise to this collaboration. Kyivstar recently launched a laboratory together with Rakuten Symphony to test the company’s cloud-native RAN software.