Our Annual MWC Recap

Hana Gazoli   March 14, 2024

The Mobile World Congress in Barcelona is without a doubt the flagship event in our calendar, the Mobile industry’s New Year. This year, we eagerly anticipated unveiling our GreenRAN™ solutions at the show and were blown away by the amazing feedback from the industry.  As a leading Open RAN pioneer, it was exciting to hear that many companies were already convinced that Open RAN was the right move for their future and the only question in their minds was how to manage the costs. This was a key reason that GreenRAN™ generated such excitement; the dramatic CAPEX and OPEX savings help operators counterbalance a significant portion of the investments they will need to make in order to finally gain control over their ecosystem.

• Power savings

Reducing power consumption has become a top priority for many network operators. We demonstrated several ways in which our multi-layered power savings approach reduces energy and operational costs for MNOs. Our HW-agnostic DUs keep unengaged components and CPUs powered down, implement intelligent scheduling for optimal transmission efficiency, and empower operators to optimize site energy efficiency.

• The flexibility to run on generic processors

We also exhibited our Hardware-Agnostic DU platform and automated deployment package, showcasing our latest partnership with AMD on both our booth and theirs. We were able to demonstrate effectively how we developed our software RAN equipment to be fully independent of any proprietary processor code. This was jaw-dropping for industry veterans, who previously were convinced that this achievement was not possible. Our platform-Agnostic software supports any chipset architecture, including generic GPP such as ARM and x86, embodying true flexibility and scalability in a network technology. This gives MNOs the freedom to deploy their network according to their needs and vision.

• Network optimization

We were proud to demonstrate our energy-efficient GreenRAN™ xApps Suite, supported by our Open RAN near-RT RIC, that empowers MNOs with new capabilities including Layer switching, admission control, MIMO channel shutdown and power saving. By analyzing the traffic patterns and the capacity at each cell site, these xApps enable operators to intelligently manage and optimize resources while preserving cluster-level KPI and end-user experience QoS.

• Open RAN-Powered DAS with SOLiD

We demonstrated how MNOs can provide good mobile service in crowded buildings like a shopping center or a stadium, without spending heavily for onsite equipment (CAPEX) as well as engineering and power expenses (OPEX). Our Active DAS solution over an ORAN interface connects SOLiDs DAS via fiber optic to the DU in the datacenter. This way, operators can reduce their footprint and save on energy, equipment and engineering by removing the need for additional radios to be deployed locally.

In other areas at the show, there were many other demonstrations and fascinating sessions. Some notable highlights included:

• AMD exhibited how their new EPYC™ 8004 Series processors are optimized for edge and vRAN deployments and deliver outstanding performance, energy efficiency and innovative features for power and space constrained environments.
• CSL Group launched a new intelligent SIM card that promises to radically improve network connectivity for IoT devices and mobile internet. The rSIM® (Resilient SIM) uses new patented technology to check its own network connectivity and switch providers automatically when disruptions occur, minimizing the chances of the SIM and the device becoming disconnected during outages. With two independent mobile operator profiles stored on the single SIM card, rSIM significantly reduces the risk of outages by switching to a backup mobile operator profile if an outage is detected.
• “Mighty Monday”- Monday kicked off the show with 6 keynote sessions, from 6 industry heavyweights such as Deutsche Telekom, Google DeepMind, Orange, Microsoft, Telefonica and Vodafone. Between them, they discussed AI, Apps, APIs, sustainable practices and the regulations that govern them all.
• Brain.ai announced that they are bringing AI into the OS and the UX of your mobile phone. Rather than let each app use its own AI models based on the specific range of personal data they have gathered, your phone will now be the one making recommendations based on a broader range of data that remains under your control, while explaining to you why it has made them.

And finally, our engineers came across some Cool Gadgets to keep your eyes on (they definitely will):

• Lenovo’s Transparent display
• Nothing’s Phone (2a) made of recyclable material
• Humane’s AI Pin
• And of course, the flying car!!