Nokia said it is ready to supply its O-RAN fronthaul multi-vendor solution to NTT DOCOMO, a leading telecom operator in Japan.

The move will enable NTT DOCOMO to select independent combinations of hardware and software to optimize its network in the future.

Nokia said it has integrated and tested 5G O-RAN AirScale baseband with third-party O-RUs (radio units) during the trial at DOCOMO’s Lab in Yokosuka. Nokia, the leading telecom equipment maker based in Finland, has built O-RAN capabilities on top of its AirScale software.

Nokia is helping to prepare for the network architecture of the future by building open interfaces on top of its existing solutions, offering CSPs a choice to pursue O-RAN. Nokia has already made significant investments in O-RAN by leading the early deployment of the RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC) and the open fronthaul.

“Successful testing with Nokia is an important step in further accelerating open RAN commercialization and its global expansion,” Sadayuki Abeta, General Manager of Radio Access Network Development Department, NTT DOCOMO, said.

“This project with NTT DOCOMO is evidence of our commitment to leading the open mobile future by investing in Open RAN solutions,” Tommi Uitto, President of Mobile Networks at Nokia, said.