S.Korea’s LG Uplus, Dell to develop open RAN platform tech

South Korea’s third-largest mobile carrier LG Uplus Corp. and global IT giant Dell Technologies are set to jointly develop an open radio access network platform to efficiently build and operate communication networks based on interoperability and standardization of RAN elements from different vendors.

LG Uplus and Dell on Feb. 23 agreed to develop the technology to build wireless communication base stations with software-based platforms, according to the telecom unit of South Korea’s fourth-largest conglomerate LG Group on Sunday. The partners also aim to discover related technologies.

The two companies’ working-level staff plan to discuss details of their cooperation at MWC Barcelona, the world’s largest mobile technology event, to be held from Monday to Thursday.

The technology will allow the carrier to operate communication base stations with components made by different companies using a single software, LG Uplus said.

FOR STABILITY AND ECONOMICS OF TELECO NETWORKS

“The cooperation is expected to increase the operation stability and economics of telecom networks by applying Dell’s latest technology to shared platforms of 5G open RAN,” said Kwon Joon-hyuk, LG Uplus head of the network division. “We will strengthen cooperation with advanced platform technology firms to improve the quality of telecom networks.”

The commercialization of open RAN technology will create an environment that allows carriers to selectively operate necessary software for individual base stations just as smartphone users download and run desired applications.

The technology is essential to ensure the performance, quality and reliability of cloud-based RAN equipment, an LG Uplus official said.

LG Uplus plans to set up test open RANs at its headquarters in Seoul to try out Dell Telecom Infrastructure Blocks, the sectors’ platform technology of the US company. The IT tech behemoth is poised to work on joint research and development of future technologies related to open RAN at its Open Telecom Ecosystem Labs (OTEL) in the US.

Write to Han-Gyeol Seon at always@hankyung.com
 
Jongwoo Cheon edited this article.