MTS, Russia’s largest mobile operator, announced the test of Russia’s first OpenRAN-based 5G telecom solution leveraging locally-sourced software developed by the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology (Skoltech).

The innovative solution delivered downlink transmission speeds surpassing 1 Gbps. The demonstration was carried out with an OpenRAN base station and a standalone (SA) MTS 5G network core connected to a commercially-available 5G SA smartphone.

In December 2019, MTS and Skoltech launched a partnership to build locally-developed OpenRAN 5G hardware and software solutions. Open radio access network (OpenRAN) specifications are aimed at increasing market access for a broader array of potential telecom equipment vendors, while making the rollout of next-generation networks faster and more affordable.

MTS CTO Victor Belov said: “Our partnership with Skoltech has delivered results: in less than two years we have become the first Russian team to implement the OpenRAN concept in a deployable prototype solution. We sourced the hardware from multiple vendors on the open market, while Skoltech developed and delivered the software.”

The MTS solution was built around an advanced base station featuring modular functionality, which is aligned with the emerging architecture of future mobile and cloud infrastructure.

Commercial IT servers with installed accelerators form the core of the base station’s hardware and are connected to an OpenRAN radio module, with data transmission via standard transport networking hardware. The software runs on CentOS, with the Skoltech-designed software components supporting a full 5G stack