Ericsson, in partnership with OKINAWA CELLULAR TELEPHONE COMPANY (hereafter OKINAWA CELLULAR) and KDDI Corporation (hereafter KDDI), has successfully completed an initial deployment evaluation of an outdoor OKINAWA CELLULAR commercial network using Ericsson’s fourth-generation Radio Access Network (RAN) compute platform for the first time in Northeast Asia.
This deployment leverages Ericsson’s cutting-edge RAN compute architecture to support both 4G and 5G networks, including future enhancements. It will help telecom companies build more flexible and efficient networks.
Radio Processor 6355 has also reduced product size by 53 percent and energy consumption by 35 percent compared to its predecessor.
The fourth-generation RAN compute platform, driven by Ericsson Silicon and designed for both current and advanced 5G use cases—including AI/ML capabilities—positions telecom operators for long-term software evolution and the eventual realization of programmable networks. This D-RAN (Distributed RAN) architecture optimizes physical space and significantly reduces the total cost of ownership.
Ericsson’s Senior Vice President and Head of Northeast Asia region Chafic Nassif, said, “The introduction of the latest generation RAN Compute platform with KDDI and OKINAWA CELLULAR marks an important milestone in mobile technology not only in Japan but also in Northeast Asia. This breakthrough not only strengthens our current services, but is also a step towards building AI-powered programmable networks and providing a more reliable and sustainable experience.”
Ikuo Marugome, General Manager of Engineering Division at Okinawa Cellular, said, ” We are very pleased to have completed the initial deployment evaluation of the state-of-the-art 4th generation RAN Compute platform at Okinawa Cellular. This product achieves further power savings and miniaturization, which we believe will help reduce the total cost of ownership of Okinawa Cellular’s network. We will continue to work with Ericsson and the KDDI Group to improve network quality in Okinawa, Japan.”
Also Read: Vodafone Idea awards Ericsson major 4G and 5G contractsHiromasa Sugisaki, General Manager of Access Network Technical Division, Core Technology Sector at KDDI, said, ” We, the KDDI Group, are pleased to have completed the first deployment evaluation of the state-of-the-art 4th generation RAN Compute platform at Okinawa Cellular in collaboration with Ericsson. This product not only contributes to carbon neutrality by reducing power consumption, but also complies with O-RAN, which is in line with the KDDI Group’s vision of building open and flexible networks. In addition, it is hardware that anticipates the use of AI for efficient network operation, and we look forward to further product development and contributions, including software enhancements.”
