By 
NTT DOCOMO, INC. has released a white paper on the 5G Open RAN Ecosystem that will support the construction of flexible networks capable of leveraging 5G wireless communication to meet the diverse needs of operators and related companies.
DOCOMO, which aims to commercialize highly flexible and scalable virtualized RAN (vRAN) in 2022, is collaborating with 12 partners toward verifying vRAN performance and providing Open RAN to telecommunications carriers worldwide.
The white paper explains the aims and benefits of the Open RAN Ecosystem and introduces examples of envisioned applications based on DOCOMO’s unique perspective as the world’s first company to operate a 5G Open RAN.
The paper addresses the challenges of deploying Open RAN, especially vRAN, such as the difficulty of flexibly combining base stations and software of various different vendors. Since this would require verification entailing significant time and cost, the new ecosystem would provide a highly useful lab that global operators could use remotely and freely to verify vRAN performance.
Another key to realizing the expanded use of Open RAN will be the deployment of vRAN on general-purpose servers, which currently presents problems in terms of system performance. The white paper discusses target performance indicators for Open RAN, such as tripling both transmission speed and the number of cells compared with current vRAN performance, and reducing power consumption by at least half.
Going forward, DOCOMO will continue to work with Open RAN Ecosystem partners and other stakeholders to promote the further development of the ecosystem as well as related technologies and know-how for the early adoption of Open RAN and vRAN.
