Rakuten, Mavenir launch eMBB services on OpenRAN network for German telco 1&1

Japanese Rakuten Symphony and US-based Mavenir have operationalised 1&1’s Open Radio Access Network (OpenRAN) network in Germany. The telecom companies said in a statement Friday that the network has now started providing enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) services.

The German telecom operator has been offering its Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) service since December 2022.

“Thus, 1&1 O-RAN is now fully functional and available throughout Germany, for example with smartphones,” according to a joint statement. In regions where 1&1 network does not yet have its coverage, customers will automatically use national roaming on the Telefonica network, and from summer 2024 onwards on the Vodafone network.

The network control of the cloud-native 1&1 O-RAN is carried out via the software and platform from technology partner Rakuten, along with a core network from Mavenir.

Unlike conventional mobile networks, Open RAN separates software and hardware. The antennas are no longer controlled on-site at radio masts but are software-based in a private cloud that 1&1 operates on commercial off-the-shelf servers in its decentralised edge data centers.

“Products and services from over 80 companies” are already being used in the 1&1 O-RAN, without any dependencies on “dominant equipment suppliers from China”, the companies said.

“All network functions are located in our private cloud and are controlled by software. This comes mainly from Rakuten and Mavenir. As system integrator, Rakuten also ensures that all network components interact smoothly. In this way, 1&1 benefits from the extensive experience that Rakuten has gained in recent years in operating the world’s first Open RAN in Japan. The full functionality of the 1&1 O-RAN is a major milestone in our company’s history,” says Ralph Dommermuth, CEO of 1&1 AG.

“Using our specially developed orchestration software, we serve as a system integrator to ensure that core network applications interact seamlessly with all other software and hardware components in the 1&1 O-RAN. We are very proud of the result of our joint work with our partners,” said Mickey Mikitani, Chairman and CEO, Rakuten Group.

“For the 1&1 O-RAN, Mavenir provides all components in the core network that are required for a state-of-the-art 5G mobile network – cloud-native and interoperable. Our software for the core network runs as container-based microservices on Rakuten Symphony’s platform and serves both fixed wireless access (FWA) and mobile services (eMBB),” says Pardeep Kohli, President and CEO Mavenir Systems Inc.