“This news marks the second big commitment to OpenRAN from a major US operator within a couple of months – indicating the significant industry shift in momentum for open networking,” Toivo says.
“The biggest operators worldwide are increasingly pledging to break away from the traditional approach to building networks, in favour of greater choice and the move to open, cloud-native networks.
Verizon’s deployment includes the massive MIMO radios as part of its previously announced 15,000 Open RAN-compliant virtualised cell sites with compliant baseband units in its commercial radio access network.
“This comes at a time when operators are looking to scale out 5G and make a return on their investments,” Toivo believes.
“By committing to ‘open’ principles, operators can disaggregate and put software innovation at the heart of their 5G networks. Enabling multi-vendor solutions will lower network build-out costs over time and open up new opportunities for revenue generation, with savings passed on to the consumer.”
Verizon has undertaken a multi-year enhancement of its network architecture that consolidations and modernises its core and access networks.
The company says it has been leading the charge in the design, development and deployment of virtualised RAN technology.
Adam Koeppe, SVP of technology planning at Verizon said Verizon is fully supportive of Open RAN technology and is focused on commercialising an operational sound Open RAN architecture.
“Our commitment to developing O-RAN standards and to deploying compliant equipment in our active Radio Access Network is helping to drive the industry forward which will result in a variety of tangible benefits for our customers who expect leading-edge technology from Verizon.”
New appointments
Separately, Verizon has appointed Brian Higgins as its first-ever chief customer experience officer as the company looks to invest in its new customer experience organisation.
Former Walmart executive Dory Butler will join Higgins as senior vice president of customer experience, where she will lead the development and delivery of high-quality sales.
Focus areas of the organisation include AI and personalisation, digital channel and systems functionality and delivering best-in-class experiences across consumer touchpoints.
“Everything starts with the customer, and we have a big opportunity to connect with them in a way we’ve never done before,” said Sowmyanarayan Sampath, CEO of Verizon Consumer.
“It begins and ends with the customer experience, which we are dedicated to improving, and the new Customer Experience organisation is laser focused on just that. I have no doubt our customers will see meaningful benefits as a result.”
