What’s up with… Parallel Wireless, Federated Wireless, Telefónica

• Parallel Wireless gets in on the Open RAN action in Turkey
• Federated Wireless lands $58 million
• Telefónica takes a metaverse approach to its hybrid #MWC22 plans

More Open RAN action in Turkey, funding for a private wireless network tech specialist and Telefónica's hybrid approach to MWC22 lead the way in today's news roundup.

Open RAN is hot in Turkey right now! Parallel Wireless has teamed up with Juniper Networks to deliver a multi-vendor Open RAN system that will be tested and then trialled at multiple sites by Türk Telekom. Parallel Wireless is providing an Open RAN package comprising band 1, 3, 7, 8, 20 radios and DU,CU software for 2G, 3G, and 4G and band 78 radios and DU,CU software for 5G, while Juniper is supplying its RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC). That Türk Telekom is working with Juniper comes as no surprise as JUniper’s RIC was initially developed by the operator’s R&D unit and then taken over for further development by the vendor – ​​see Juniper joins the Open RAN RIC club. And last week, Juniper announced it is also working with Vodafone Turkey on Open RAN tests involving the RIC platform. (See Turkish delight for Juniper as Vodafone tests its RIC in Open RAN lab.)

Federated Wireless, a company developing shared spectrum Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) capabilities, unveiled it has secured $58 million to fund the further development of its 5G private wireless portfolio for enterprise. The Series D funding was led by an affiliate of Cerberus Capital Management, with additional participation from existing investors Allied Minds and GIC, Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund. The US company said it will use the proceeds to “simplify and automate how wireless networks are purchased, deployed, provisioned and managed,” so that it is easier for organisations to optimise their network and speed time-to-market with advancements in technologies such as Internet of Things (IoT) and Virtual/Augmented Reality (VR/AR). “Private wireless will deliver the type of transformation for enterprises that the cloud delivered for IT infrastructure. This investment will enable us to scale our spectrum platforms, invest in commercialisation, and accelerate private wireless market adoption,” commented Federated Wireless CEO Iyad Tarazi. The company will also use the funding to push its strategy to expand its edge solutions, invest in cloud-native tools, mobilise the ecosystem and expand product capabilities for sharing in 6GHz. Federated Wireless was founded in 2012 and has more than 350 customers and 85,000 connected devices across the US and territories. Some of its customers include Verizon, Comcast and the US Department of Defense. Read more about the financial injection and its plans going forward here.

Telefónica is to offer an enhanced and expanded “digital twin” of its MWC22 show floor presence and enable those who are not attending the Barcelona event in person to experience multiple demonstrations, such as ‘Smart Industry’ and Smart Buildings’, in the metaverse. It will also offer two additional ‘demos’ special to its metaverse-enabled experience. “They will be dedicated to ‘Predictive maintenance with 5G drones’, focused on the use of drones, 5G and Artificial Intelligence to enable new business uses through the exploitation of data collection, and ‘Cybersecure in the Smart Cities’, which will show all the keys to progress towards a ‘smart city’ that, in addition to being intelligent, is secure, efficient and sustainable.” Read more.

Two of the biggest names in the telecoms test and measurement sector, Rohde & Schwarz (R&S) and Viavi Solutions Inc., have teamed up to develop a solution for the conformance testing of Open RAN-compliant radio units (O-RUs). “The joint test solution already supported benchmarking and validation tests at multiple locations during PlugFests,” and will be on display at MWC22 on the Rohde & Schwarz Booth #5A80. The solution comprises: The R&S SMW200A vector signal generator, R&S FSVA3000 signal and spectrum analyzer, and the R&S VSE signal analysis software from Rohde & Schwarz, “to emulate a real-world radio environment by generating, capturing and analyzing RF signals, extended for O-RAN applications”; the TM500 O-RU Tester from VIAVI, “implementing the O-RAN Distributed Unit (O-DU) side of the M-plane and C/U-plane functionality necessary to configure the interface with the O-RU and exchange of I/Q data over the Open Fronthaul”; and the O-RU Test Manager application, which provides a “single point of control for the integrated system, simplifying testcase workflow while allowing deeper data inspection and analysis as needed.” Read more. 

Cloud-native platform specialist Robin.io, which has developed a networking-oriented Kubernetes system to run telecoms functions, has teamed up with Lekha Wireless andBlue Arcus to offer a cloud-oriented suite of Open RAN and virtualized core functions that can be used in enterprise-focused deployments such as private wireless networks and networked edge computing deployments. Read more.

Nokia has expanded its software-as-a-service (SaaS) portfolio with the launch of two new applications: iSIM Secure Connect, which “gives control to automate the entire eSIM/iSIM management process” and “open opportunities to monetize services linked to trusted digital identities”; and AVA NWDAF (Network Data Analytics Function), which “helps CSPs provide analytics at the network edge, implement analytics services defined by 3GPP, and create partnerships with software developers.” Read more.

- The staff, TelecomTV