AT & T and Ericsson: Bridging the divide The AT & T-Ericsson partnership provides a fascinating, real-world case study of an operator navigating the transition from a traditional RAN to an Open RAN architecture. AT & T, a founding member of the O-RAN Alliance, is committed to the open model but faces the immense challenge of a“ brownfield” deployment, transforming a live, nationwide network with millions of customers without disruption. The solution is a pragmatic, integrator-led approach. AT & T has tasked Ericsson with providing the core open architecture, including the crucial baseband( RAN Compute) and Cloud RAN software, that will serve as the foundation for a future multi-vendor ecosystem. The strategy prioritises stability and accountability, leveraging Ericsson’ s expertise to manage the enormous complexity of the initial migration.
The partners are validating the platform’ s“ openness” through tangible milestones. In February 2024, they switched on the first commercial traffic on Ericsson’ s Cloud RAN sites, proving that the virtualised architecture can handle live customer data at scale. Even more significantly, they completed the first successful Open RAN call using third-party radios from Fujitsu connected to Ericsson’ s baseband. This achievement provided critical proof that the O-RAN specifications for the Open
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