Watch: How Open RAN's Future-Proof Architecture Creates a Streamlined Path to 5G

The Radio Access Network (RAN) has long been one of the most expensive parts of a service provider's network. Now, with 5G deployments top of mind, investments in traditional RAN solutions could skyrocket as 5G demands a much denser RAN.

On top of being costly, legacy RAN solutions are notoriously restrictive, as major components of a RAN must come from the same vendor's system, which can stifle innovation and efficiency.

Open RAN -- a virtualized RAN on general-purpose hardware -- replaces legacy, single-vendor RAN solutions with a stable, scalable and 5G-ready architecture that allows for a more efficient network that optimizes performance, enables more agile service delivery to end customers and reduces operational expenditures.

WWT, Cisco and Altiostar have created an open, cloud-based, virtualized Open RAN blueprint that will help service providers deploy high-performance networks, enable agile service delivery and reduce operational expenditures.

The single-vendor, turnkey solution accelerates operators' ability to replace existing legacy RAN architectures. And the U.S. government, through the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), is putting up $1 billion in federal money to U.S. service providers to ensure they deploy modernized 4G/5G RAN solutions that would help American operators compete.

WWT's Greg Schoeny recently sat down with Heavy Reading Principal Mobile Networks and 5G Analyst Gabriel Brown to discuss the Open RAN solution. Key topics discussed in this webinar include:

• Deliver secure end-to-end 4G/5G solutions and services to service providers.
• Maximize ROI on existing network infrastructure.
• Enable a new ecosystem of vendors, leveraging a cloud-based architecture.
• Future-proof architecture that creates a streamlined transition path to 5G.

Shabbir Bagasrawala, who leads Altiostar's go-to-market strategy, and Steve Mailey, a systems architect with Cisco, also participated in the discussion. 

The Open RAN blueprint, validated in WWT's Advanced Technology Center, a unique lab environment with over $500 million in OEM infrastructure, can provide a significant boost for service providers to implement and realize the industry's 5G vision by delivering an open, agile, software-driven network that enables richer services, with greater flexibility at a lower cost.

The Open RAN solution: 

• Maximizes ROI on existing network infrastructure by utilizing current hardware to deploy the solution.
• Is a fully integrated, cloud-based virtual RAN, which enables a new ecosystem of vendors to participate in the RAN industry while leveraging the benefits of cloud-based architecture, including web-scale hardware and systems.
• Provides a future-proof architecture that creates a simple transition path to 5G.