Ericsson deploys Cloud RAN on AT&T’s commercial 5G network

AT&T and Ericsson have started deploying the Swedish telecom gear maker’s Cloud Radio Access Network (Cloud RAN) technology on the telecom operator’s commercial 5G network.

“The two companies have completed a Cloud RAN call as a milestone in deploying Open RAN. AT&T now has commercial traffic flowing on Cloud RAN sites, the first ones of which are located south of Dallas, Texas,” Ericsson said on Monday.

The configuration used for the Cloud RAN call has been deployed in the AT&T network, and third-party vendors will be able to use this configuration for Open RAN in the future.

“This is the next milestone in AT&T’s Open RAN journey. By moving traffic to cloud RAN sites, we’re accelerating our c-band deployment and continuing to virtualize our network. The open network future is coming fast and we’re looking forward to seeing the innovation that it brings for our customers,” said Chris Sambar, Head of Network, AT&T.

“Taking the next leap is second nature to us at Ericsson as we constantly innovate and capitalize on technology trends and shifts to stay ahead of the curve. This progress in our collaboration with AT&T shows our commitment to supporting their Open RAN ambition,” said Fredrik Jejdling, Executive Vice President and Head of Networks, Ericsson.

As part of the live deployment, AT&T and Ericsson have migrated the 3700MHz band for their C-Band traffic to Cloud RAN infrastructure.

The vendor termed it as the “next step” in the ongoing collaboration between AT&T and Ericsson to realise the benefits of Cloud RAN and move AT&T closer to its goal of a fully open, agile, programmable wireless network.

AT&T and Ericsson will continue to implement and optimize new network capabilities in this rapidly evolving RAN cloud-based architecture area.

The US telco in December 2023 awarded a five-year contract to Ericsson to commercially build an Open Radio Access Network (OpenRAN) technology-based network, which will carry 70% of its wireless traffic in the United States by late 2026.

AT&T’s spending could approach roughly $14 billion over the contract duration. AT&T expects to have fully integrated open RAN sites operating in coordination with Ericsson and Fujitsu, starting in 2024.

In 2025, AT&T plans to scale the OpenRAN deployment jointly with multiple vendors, including Corning Incorporated, Dell Technologies, Fujitsu, and Intel.