Orange to launch experimental 5G network amid telecom rush to the cloud

Casa Systems

30/06/2021 08:30

By Clara-Laeila Laudette
    MADRID, June 30 (Reuters) - Orange  ORAN.PA  said on
Wednesday it will launch an experimental 5G network using a
cloud-based open platform and artificial intelligence in July,
as the telecom industry rushes to shift services onto the cloud
in a bid to cut costs and modernise.
    Orange will build the network in Lannion, northern France,
in partnership with companies such as Mavenir  MVNR.O , Casa
Systems  CASA.O , Hewlett Packard Enterprise  HPE.N , Dell
Technologies  DELL.N  and Xiaomi  1810.HK .
    "This experimental network will enable Orange to understand
the customer benefit of a fully clouderised network, as well as
AI," Orange's Chief Technology Officer Michael Trabbia told
reporters on a call.
    "We'll start small but ramp up quickly to encompass hundreds
of users by the end of this year."
    Orange hopes to expand the network, called Pikeo, to other
countries in 2022, once it is fully-fledged and able to
self-repair thanks to automation and machine learning, with
Trabbia noting that Spain might be a good candidate for
exportation.
    Several telecom companies have been experimenting with a
technology called Open Radio Access Network (RAN), which uses
software to run network functions on the cloud, a feature
requiring less physical equipment.
    The technology promises to radically cut costs for telecom
operators by employing cloud-based software and commoditized
hardware rather proprietary equipment supplied by companies such
as Nokia  NOKIA.HE , Ericsson  ERICb.ST  and Huawei  HWT.UL .
    Orange has said it aims to have 100% of its new equipment be
compatible with open RAN by 2025, a plan similar to that of
Spanish operator Telefonica, as Europe's telecoms firms face the
challenge of ever-accelerating digitalisation amid the pandemic.
    "We're seeing big expectations from customers, the industry
... as with the factory of the future: augmented maintenance,
high-definition monitoring, logistical elements which we're
working to optimise thanks to this type of network," Trabbia
added.

 (Reporting by Clara-Laeila Laudette; additional reporting by
Supantha Mukherjee; Editing by Marguerita Choy)
 ((Clara-Laeila.Laudette@thomsonreuters.com;))