Benetel, a developer of leading-edge radio solutions for 5G and 4G/LTE Small Cells, has signed up to participate in the SmartRAN Open Network Interoperability Centre (SONIC). SONIC is a joint program between Digital Catapult and Ofcom via which the interoperability and integration of various OpenRAN solutions will be validated. SONIC goes into operation in May 2021 and will combine comprehensive laboratory testing capabilities with small-scale implementation activities.
Adrian O`Connor, CEO of Benetel said that Benetel is excited to be partnering with Digital Catapult and Ofcom in relation to the SONIC program, and collaborating on real-world OpenRAN deployments. SONIC presents a highly effective platform to ensure OpenRAN deployment readiness for the UK 5G market.
Benetel will provide SONIC with OpenRAN radio units (O-RUs). These will be integrated with products from other solution providers in order to fully demonstrate OpenRAN’s multi-vendor capabilities and the open ecosystem that it supports. Joe Butler, CTO of Digital Catapult welcomed Benetel’s involvement in SONIC. He also stated that their goal is to ensure multi-vendor OpenRAN interoperability and the availability of advanced, deployment-ready OpenRAN solutions to address the UK 5G market.
Benetel works with leading players and open initiatives, such as the O-RAN Alliance, the OpenAirInterface Software Alliance (OSA), the Telecom Infrastructure Project (TIP), Open RAN Policy Coalition and now SONIC to provide RUs over fronthaul networks that interwork with virtualized baseband units. This open disaggregated RAN is the backbone of next-generation mobile network infrastructure.
Click here to know more about OpenRAN (O-RAN).
Click here to view 5G frequency bands in the United Kingdom.
