Sep 27, 2023 11:50:00

Will NTT Docomo install 5G base stations using NVIDIA GPUs solve the problem of Docomo 5G being too slow and disconnecting?

Since the beginning of 2023, there has been a problem with NTT Docomo's mobile communication network being difficult to connect to. Meanwhile, NTT Docomo announced that it will collaborate with semiconductor manufacturer

NVIDIA to build a GPU-accelerated 5G network open RAN.

NTT DOCOMO to Launch GPU-Accelerated 5G Network | NVIDIA Blog
https://blogs.nvidia.com/blog/2023/09/26/ntt-docomo-gpu-accelerated-5g-network/

Announcing the 'OREX®' open RAN service lineup - reducing TCO by up to 30% and power consumption by up to 50% - | News | NTT Docomo
https://www.docomo.ne.jp/info/news_release/2023/09/27_00.html

NVIDIA collaborates with NTT Docomo to build world's first GPU-accelerated 5G network open RAN | NVIDIA press release
https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000413.000012662.html

Fujitsu delivers O-RAN ALLIANCE compliant 5G virtual base station for NTT Docomo's 5G commercial network service : Fujitsu
https://pr.fujitsu.com/jp/news/2023/09/27.html

NTT DoCoMo, as an open RAN service provider, has announced ``OREX RAN'', ``OREX SMO'', and ``OREX Services'' as part of its open RAN service lineup provided to overseas carriers. 'OREX' is an open RAN service brand provided by NTT Docomo and various global vendors in collaboration. By introducing OREX's open RAN service, the total cost of ownership (TCO) such as initial costs and maintenance costs required when introducing open RAN can be reduced by up to 30%, and network design and operation can be reduced by up to 50%. %, and power consumption at base stations can be reduced by up to 50%.

In addition, when announcing the 'OREX' brand, NTT DoCoMo announced that it had pre-introduced 'OREX RAN' and 'OREX SMO' into its 5G network and began operation on September 22, 2023. 'OREX RAN' is a service that provides base stations with high cost performance by taking advantage of the characteristics of open RAN, which can combine products from various vendors, and 'OREX SMO' provides efficient design, configuration, and monitoring of radio access networks. This is software that autonomously realizes optimal equipment operation for the purpose of

As a result, NTT Docomo will become the world's first carrier to deploy a commercial GPU-accelerated 5G network. Regarding this initiative, NTT Docomo said, ``A multi-billion dollar project will unlock the flexibility, scalability, and supply chain diversity enabled by Open RAN while driving improvements in performance, total cost of ownership (TCO), and energy efficiency. It deals with problems on a scale of (hundreds of billions of yen).'

The 5G open RAN solution adopted by NTT Docomo employs Fujitsu's high-performance 5G virtual radio access network (vRAN) built on the NVIDIA Aerial vRAN stack and

NVIDIA converged accelerators . Furthermore, it is comprised of general-purpose servers that employ Wind River's cloud virtualization infrastructure and Intel processors. This combination enables carriers to dynamically allocate resources using industry-standard equipment to create fully software-defined and cloud-defined networks.

The system configuration image of NTT Docomo's 5G vRAN is as follows. In order to realize multi-vendor connectivity that combines various radio equipment (O-RU) provided by global suppliers, we have implemented an open fronthaul interface that complies with the O-RAN ALLIANCE specification, the global standard for open RAN. It means.

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