1&1, a German mobile network provider, has launched its ‘1&1 O-RAN’ network, one of the first fully virtualised 5G networks in Europe. The technology is based on Open RAN and allows for enhanced mobile services, including fixed wireless access (FWA) and mobile broadband (eMBB).
The 1&1 O-RAN network is now fully operational and available across Germany. In areas where the network is still being deployed, customers will seamlessly connect to the Telefónica network, and starting from the summer of 2024, to the Vodafone network.
The network control of the cloud-native 1&1 O-RAN is carried out through the software and platform from 1&1 technology partner Rakuten, along with a core network from Mavenir.
Rakuten Symphony, a Rakuten Group company providing global B2B services for the mobile telco industry and enabling next-generation, cloud-based, international mobile services is responsible for the end-to-end integration of the network. The cloud-native core network is provided by Mavenir as the cloud-native network software provider.
Open RAN technology consistently 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 hundreds of decentralised edge data centres. Gigabit antennas are connected to these via fibre optics.
1&1 works flexibly with manufacturers via standardised interfaces. 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.
“All network functions are located in our private cloud and are controlled by software. This comes mainly from Rakuten and Mavenir. As a system integrator, Rakuten also ensures that all network components interact smoothly,” said Ralph Dommermuth, a CEO at 1&1 AG. “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.”
“As the first provider in Europe to operate a commercial Open Radio Access Network, 1&1 has created a digital beacon with its innovative mobile network,” said Mickey Mikitani, a chairman and CEO at Rakuten Group. “As end-to-end technology partner for 1&1’s network, Rakuten is delivering the efficient and highly automated control of the antennas in the 1&1 Open RAN. Using our specially developed orchestration software, we serve as 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.”
“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,” says Pardeep Kohli, a president and CEO at Mavenir Systems. “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). We congratulate 1&1 on Europe’s most advanced mobile network and are proud to be part of this innovation from the beginning.”
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