Silicom, a global provider of networking and data infrastructure solutions, announced the launch of its O-RAN compliant, Evenstar Distributed Unit (DU) in collaboration with Facebook Connectivity and other Evenstar partners.
The Evenstar DU addresses the growing mobile operator demand for best-in-breed, unbundled DUs that meet 3GPP and O-RAN specifications in order to facilitate the roll-out of OpenRAN 4G and 5G networks.
Shaike Orbach, Silicom's CEO said that they are delighted to be selected by the Evenstar program to introduce their unique DU to a market awaiting OpenRAN-compliant solutions. Through this collaboration, they will provide operators with groundbreaking functionality that takes their network flexibility and performance to a new level – such as advanced offloads and time synchronization - at highly competitive price points.
Launched last year in collaboration with a number of industry players, the Evenstar program aims to accelerate the adoption of OpenRAN solutions by contributing RAN reference architecture to the Telecom Infra Project's OpenRAN Project Group. The concept behind OpenRAN is to enable operators to decouple key network components, including RUs (Radio Units), DUs (Distribution Units), and CUs (Central Units), enabling best-of-breed components from diverse vendors to be combined into networks for superior performance. This approach is key for driving innovation and reducing network costs.
Jaydeep Ranade, Director of Wireless Engineering for Facebook Connectivity further stated that they are excited to collaborate with Silicom and other ecosystem partners to build Evenstar components for 4G and 5G networks. A healthy ecosystem of OpenRAN vendors plays a huge role in accelerating the deployment of simplified, flexible, and efficient RAN technologies.
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