Vodafone, NEC conduct first O-RAN voice call in partnership with Altiostar

Dutch telecoms operator Vodafone, NEC Europe, a wholly-owned subsidiary of NEC Corporation, and Altiostar on Tuesday jointly said they have conducted the first voice call on an open Radio Access Network (Open RAN) on Vodafone’s network in the Netherlands.
Open RAN technology allows the disaggregation of hardware from software and enables the creation of an open ecosystem that can support multiple vendors.
Furthermore, Vodafone and NEC said they plan to integrate solutions of Open RAN technology vendors such as Altiostar and other radio vendors, including NEC’s own 5G radio products, using commercial off the shelf (COTS) hardware from third-parties to enable Vodafone to transform its network to a software-based one.
ETTelecom previously reported that IT services provider Tech Mahindra’s wholly-owned subsidiary TechM Americas has sold its stake in Altiostar Networks for $45 million to Rakuten’s US subsidiary.
In 2018, Tech Mahindra had acquired a 17.5% stake in the US-based telecom software development company Altiostar Networks for $15 million.