Juniper Networks, Vodafone deliver successful Open RAN RIC trial with third-party app integration

Juniper Networks, a company in secure, AI-driven networks, announced that together with Vodafone, a pioneer in Open Radio Access Network (RAN) solutions, and Parallel Wireless, an Open RAN vendor fostering open interfaces, has achieved a successful field trial, validating both Admission Control and Traffic Steering applications running on top of the open and interoperable Juniper RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC) platform.

This trial is based on an open, software-driven architecture that shows the power of openness and intelligence to effectively address the key business challenges faced by mobile operators today, including OPEX control, service differentiation, customer experience, and sustainability, among others. It was validated with live traffic on a Vodafone commercial network.

By combining Juniper’s rApp and xApp, the Admission Control use case facilitates real-time tracking and optimization of radio resources such as User Equipment and Power Distribution Units based on current traffic usage. This application enables network resources to be dynamically allocated without the need for over-provisioning to specific customers. This improves resource management and network efficiency, leading to cost savings for operators with streamlined operations and reduced equipment needs. Additionally, this results in a higher quality of service for end-users.

The Traffic Steering xApp from Parallel Wireless, in conjunction with Juniper’s rApp, enhances the user experience by dynamically and automatically distributing network load. Based on the traffic/cell conditions in Vodafone’s live network, throughput improvements of 40% were observed for users that were experiencing low performance due to cell overload, and an average of 15% to 30% improvement was observed across all users in the overloaded cell. This application efficiently utilizes operator resources to meet capacity demands without requiring manual intervention, thereby helping to reduce costs and to minimize errors.

Both use cases effectively show how the RIC can autonomously manage and optimise user experience based on real-time data insights. In a multi-vendor environment, these use cases can be applied uniformly across RANs. Mobile operators and third-party apps are better able to realise the full potential and advantages of Open RAN thanks to the ability to install cutting-edge applications from third-party vendors on top of the Juniper RIC platform.

Sustainable networking is imperative for mobile operators, and successful RIC trials in Open RAN networks such as this one will help drive more energy-efficient and sustainable operations. RIC applications such as Admission Control can lower RAN energy consumption by avoiding over-provisioning of resources to handle peak traffic. Likewise, the Traffic Steering application allows efficient utilization of network resources to meet capacity demands while avoiding additional capital investments. These applications can also lower the overall RAN energy consumption, contributing to the achievement of mobile operators’ sustainability targets.

Vodafone and Juniper Networks are set to continue their collaboration on the Radio Intelligence Controller with a focus on developing advanced use cases, such as energy-saving and mMIMO optimization. The collaboration will also involve validating third-party rApp/xApp vendors using the SDK and APIs exposed by Juniper RIC.

All three organizations are active operators/contributors of the O-RAN Alliance and the Telecom Infra Project (TIP), underlining their shared commitment to industry innovation and standards.