Qualcomm Tech and NEC, in the previous week made an announcement that they are collaborating to produce a 5G open and virtualized distributed unit. (DU). Based on the Qualcomm X100 5G RAN Accelerator Card, the DU, stated the duo, will “drive the transition towards modern networks” through simplification of deployments and reducing the cumulative cost of ownership (TCO) by providing high-performance, open radio access network (O-RAN)-compliant, energy-efficient, virtualized, and cloud-native 5G solutions. 

Highlighting the criticality of this collaboration, Durga Malladi, senior VP and GM of 5G, mobile broadband and infrastructure at Qualcomm made the comment “Joining forces with NEC is at the core of advancing the cellular ecosystem and accelerating the innovation cycle to facilitate the fast track of deploying modern networks at scale.” 

The collaboration directly tackles the challenge that operators encounter when deploying affordable 5G network infrastructure as network and user demands are simultaneously becoming more complicated. 

The solution will be produced under the 5G Open RAN Ecosystem (OREC) initiative. Driven by NTT Docomo, the initiative intends to accelerate Open RAN globally. According to the Japanese operator’s General Manager, Radio Access Network Development Department Sadayuki Abeta, the collaboration between NEC and Qualcomm “will assist in driving […] OREC activities to make 5G RAN deployment more open and flexible with industry leaders.” 

NEC Corporation’s General Manager, 2nd Wireless Access Solutions Division Katsumi Tanoue made the comment that consumers can expect “a tremendous advantage” following the integration of Qualcomm 5G RAN platforms with NEC O-RAN products, particularly those that need high performance and power-effective solutions. 

“The Qualcomm X100 5G RAN Accelerator Card intends to deliver lower power and best in-class performance to meet the performance demands at the edge and capture new revenue opportunities,” stated Tanoue. 

Malladi detailed that open and virtualized RAN, pose a “significant opportunity” for the telecom domain, including that as an outcome, the organization “is committed to driving more innovative and competitive cellular infrastructure to facilitate operators and industry verticals to effectively deploy 5G network coverage and capacity where it is required most with our comprehensive Qualcomm 5G RAN Platforms.”