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Network solutions vendor Juniper Networks (NYSE: JNPR) is teaming up with Intel to help the Open RAN (ORAN) ecosystem advance. It would allow service providers and enterprises to deploy 5G, edge computing, and AI to market faster.
This collaboration by two technology giants marks another step forward for Juniper Networks in its efforts to bring openness and innovation to a historically closed-off portion of the network.
“Juniper has always been committed to open infrastructures, which is why we are excited to support the work that Intel has undertaken with their FlexRAN ecosystem,” said Constantine Polychronopoulos, VP of 5G and Telco Cloud at Juniper Networks. “By collaborating with Intel, we are able to deliver cloud-native routing, automation, intelligence and assurance solutions and services that are optimized for our customers’ needs, speeding time-to-market and enabling them to monetize faster.”
Juniper’s collaboration with Intel includes the following:
- To improve the usability of a complete ORAN-compliant Intelligent RAN system, Juniper RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC) and Intel FlexRAN platform are pre-integrated and pre-validated
- Collaboration on R&D for RIC platform-specific apps with Intel Labs to optimize user experience, maximize ROI, and accelerate ORAN ecosystem innovation
- Intel and customers collaborated on customer testbeds to evaluate performance-improving technology and shorten time-to-market
Juniper Networks is also a member of the O-RAN Alliance, where the company participates in six working groups and chairs and co-chairs the slicing and use-case task groups, respectively. Within the partnership, Juniper also serves as an editor of RIC standards.
Juniper has already made considerable investments to claim a leadership role in ORAN and help lead this industry change, beginning with an exclusive IP licensing deal with Netsia and continuing with significant participation in the O-RAN Alliance. Next to that, Juniper is highly involved in increasing integrations with major partners and is a member of Intel’s 5G Lab’s innovation team, which is developing collaborative customer solutions.
“The virtualization of the RAN continues to gain momentum across the industry as operators take advantage of cloud economics and the delivery of new services,” said Caroline Chan, VP Intel Corporation, GM of Network Business Incubator Division. “This collaboration with Juniper and the validation of FlexRAN and RIC solutions will assist service providers to overcome integration challenges and accelerate time-to-market for future deployments.”
