AsiaNet 88847

NASHUA, N.H., April 7, 2021 /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/ --

-- Companies to collaborate with Intel and Supermicro to bring cost-effective

rural and urban coverage

Parallel Wireless, Inc. (

https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=3118917-1&h=2847368513&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.parallelwireless.com%2F%3F%26utm_source%3Dnews%26utm_medium%3Dpress-release%26utm_campaign%3Detisalat%26utm_content%3Dcustomer%26utm_term%3Dpr04-2021&a=Parallel+Wireless%2C+Inc

), the leading U.S.-based Open RAN company, today announced its partnership

with Etisalat (

https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=3118917-1&h=2678445659&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.etisalat.af%2F&a=Etisalat

), one of the world's leading telco operators in Afghanistan (recognized by

Ookla® Speedtest(R) as the world's fastest mobile network in 2020) to deliver

the world's first cloud-native O-RAN compliant 5G 4G 3G 2G Open RAN solutions,

in collaboration with Intel and Supermicro, becoming the first in Central Asia

to implement Open RAN.

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Afghanistan has seen a strong increase in mobile broadband with penetration

reaching 22% in 2019 up from 1% in 2013. While mobile broadband is still in its

early stages of development, growth is expected in 2022.

Mobile network operators in Central Asia are facing strong pressure to evolve

their businesses and operations to drive profitability. Addressing these

challenges requires industry innovation focused on reducing CAPEX and OPEX and

opening the networks to avoid any vendor lock-in. Traditional hardware-defined

2G, 3G or 4G networks require expensive and bulky equipment to deploy, operate

or upgrade.  

Open RAN solutions are now ready for prime time as Parallel Wireless Open RAN

solution is delivering proof points of performance, quality of service, and

cost benefits on six continents. Parallel Wireless is also leading with

innovation in Open RAN, including the world's first network architecture that

unifies all mobile connectivity standards – 2G, 3G, 4G, and 5G– under the same

software and cloud-native umbrella.

In Afghanistan, Parallel Wireless is innovating with ecosystem partners to

deliver:

    -- Easy scale-out and hardware decoupling to provide mobile operators with

       greater agility, resilience, and portability across cloud environments

       for greater total cost of ownership (TCO) savings.

    -- The Open RAN radio hardware ecosystem provides Remote Radio Units (RRUs)

       that will allow Etisalat to replace legacy 2G/3G/4G systems with white

       box solutions that can be upgraded to 5G in the future.

    -- Intel's 3rd Gen Intel Xeon scalable processors delivered in Supermicro's

       servers bring a future-ready architecture for a Distributed Unit (DU)

       and a Central Unit (CU), deployed at the network's edge. The virtual

       Baseband Unit (vBBU) resources can be shared among multiple RRUs on-site

       in multi-carrier 1-sector, 3-sector, or 6-sector configurations to

       achieve optimal resource pooling for TCO savings.

Etisalat's strategic goal is to build and grow wireless networks to provide

next-generation digital services to its customers in the region. Working in

collaboration with Parallel Wireless, Intel, and Supermicro, this can be

achieved by:

    -- assembling viable solutions that build on an open and modular

       architecture;

    -- improving service agility through cloudification; and

    -- reducing operational costs across geographically distributed sites with

       automation.

Supporting quotes

Hatem Bamatraf, Chief Technology Officer-International, Etisalat Group, said:

"The combination of Open RAN, virtualization, and automation will enable

Etisalat to meet the needs of our customers most cost-effectively in Central

Asia. Being able to use an Open RAN system will help us not only extend our

initial investment, but also bring new services much faster. Parallel Wireless

together with Intel and Supermicro have become true strategic partners and key

enablers in undertaking this Open RAN implementation."

Jeff Sharpe, Director Edge/5G Solutions, Supermicro, said, "We are pleased to

be working with Etisalat, Parallel Wireless, and Intel to enable an open

ecosystem of disaggregated RAN solutions using vendor-neutral RAN hardware and

software-defined technology based on open interfaces and community-developed

standards."

Amrit Heer, Director of Sales, Parallel Wireless, said, "In collaboration with

the ecosystem partners, Parallel Wireless aims to make the RAN more open and

flexible. While there is significant innovation happening, there are

considerable gaps and challenges that make it difficult to deploy end-to-end

Open RAN solutions, putting a heavy burden back on operators. We believe it is

the ideal time to align and collaborate to solve the key challenges to deliver

innovative RAN solutions that are ready for commercial deployment. Implementing

our world's leading O-RAN compliant software platform will allow Etisalat to

enable new services to be deployed quickly, seamlessly, and more reliably."

About Etisalat Group

Etisalat Group is one of the world's leading telecom groups in emerging

markets. With consolidated net revenue at AED 51.7 billion and consolidated net

profit of AED 9.0 billion for 2020, its high credit ratings reflect the

company's strong balance sheet and proven long-term performance.

Headquartered in Abu Dhabi, Etisalat was established over four decades ago in

the UAE as the country's first telecommunications service provider. An

international blue-chip organisation, Etisalat Group provides innovative

solutions and services to 154 million subscribers in 16 countries across the

Middle East, Asia and Africa.

Etisalat is ranked the strongest brand across all categories in Middle East and

Africa (MEA) region by Brand Finance. Etisalat was recognized as the fastest

mobile network globally by Ookla(R) Speedtest(R) in 2020, providing its

subscribers the most superior experience.

About Parallel Wireless

At Parallel Wireless, we believe that software has the power to unleash amazing

opportunities for the world. We disrupt the ways wireless networks are built

and operated. We are reimagining how hardware, software, and the cloud work

together to change deployment economics for our customers. Our ALL G (2G 3G 4G

5G) O-RAN compliant software platform forms an open, secure, and intelligent

RAN architecture to deliver wireless connectivity, so all people can be

connected whenever, wherever, and however they choose. We are engaged with over

50 global MNOs and have been recognized with over 74 industry awards. At the

core of what we do is our team of Reimaginers who value innovation,

collaboration, openness, and customer success. For more information, visit:

www.parallelwireless.com. Connect with Parallel Wireless on LinkedIn (

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) and Twitter (

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).

SOURCE Parallel Wireless

CONTACT: Eugina Jordan, VP, Marketing, Parallel Wireless,

Ejordan@parallelwireless.com, 978-660-8659