Axiata and Mavenir Achieve First Live Commercial Open vRAN Deployment With TIP Evenstar 4G Radio

Mavenir, the Network Software Provider building the future of networks with cloud-native software that runs on any cloud and transforms the way the world connects, and Axiata Group Berhad, a leading communication Service Provider in Asia, announced today that they have achieved full integration in live environment, using the MAVair O-RAN based solution for Open RAN: the uniqueness of the solution is the use for the first time in commercial service of the Evenstar 4G RRU, produced by the Telecom Infra Project, with 7.2 O-RAN interface and Open RAN fully virtualized.

The deployment has happened in three properties (Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Indonesia), where Axiata has selected in various scenarios, some sites from the legacy incumbent vendors and replaced them with the MAVair Open vRAN solution from Mavenir. Sites are connected with non-ideal backhaul (microwave links), and specifically in some cases with Satellite connectivity, being the first ever in Open vRAN solutions in the world.

The MAVair family includes the flexible Open RAN approach where the evolved RAN architecture, designed with cloud-native virtualization techniques, enables the RAN to flex and adapt based on usage and coverage - using virtualized disaggregated network components, with open standard interfaces, offering all the latest network features - while allowing specific customization and innovation where appropriate.

The integration with the existing coverage and the performances achieved in terms of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are such that the end users perceive seamless service continuity and, in some cases, enhanced throughout for a great mobile broadband experience, including next generation voice services. The MAVair Open vRAN is capable of performing in any type of environment, from rural and urban, with a very flexible architecture and also adapt to the existing environment providing an ideal solution for new applications like Radio Intelligent Controller to increase capacity and optimize the radio and software resources.

Axiata and Mavenir are deploying cloud native solution to build together the Network of the Future and providing fully automated infrastructure, which is software driven and fully cloudified, boosting the ecosystem for Open RAN in Asia. Mavenir’s virtualized RAN (vRAN) platform will enable the utilization of Open Virtualised RAN technology and its target objective of moving towards a fully automated network architecture of the future. Axiata intends to deploy commercial Open RAN network by end of 2021.

“Mavenir is delighted to work with Axiata on their radio network transformation initiative. Together, we have achieved excellent results in Axiata’s commercial network and sites deployed in rural, suburban and urban locations, proving the extreme flexibility of Open vRAN,” said Pardeep Kohli, Mavenir president and CEO. “The collaboration will transform existing networks into a dynamic, agile and cloud-native based platform where Mavenir and Axiata will build the Networks of the Future.”

“We are proud to be among the first to deploy TIP’s Evenstar 4G radios in live commercial Open RAN environments,” said Thomas Hundt, Executive Vice President – Technology at Axiata Group Berhad. “We’re encouraged by how Mavenir’s cloud native Open virtualized RAN has integrated so seamlessly into our legacy networks.”