The big issues

The “speed of innovation” for emerging 5G RAN infrastructure products from Tier 2/3 Open RAN equipment manufacturers is hampered by their ability to adopt the always changing latest and greatest silicon innovations for the critical base station processing.

The response

The Proteus project, led by Parallel Wireless, will instigate fundamental breakthroughs by developing an entirely new supplier ecosystem to implement the Open RAN strategic diversification vision. Through this diversification the project will enable cost and power consumption reductions and create an alternative technology portfolio. The Smart Internet Lab will work with industry partners to deliver the development.

The benefits

By pioneering and promoting the Proteus outcomes, UK suppliers, attracted by the emerging global supply chain opportunities based on open standards, will have more freedom in their choice of hardware platforms, whilst increasing the security of supply. Unlocking the potential of Open RAN is a key component of fulfilling the UK’s 5G Supply Chain Diversification Strategy and this investment will drive research and innovation on open architectures for future mobile networks marking a step forward towards the next generation, 6G.

How is BDFI involved?

This work is aligned with our mission and is led by Co-Director Professor Dimitra Simeonidou.