Altran, Qualcomm collaborate for 5G NR small cell software

With the global small-cell 5G network market projected to have explosive growth over the next five to six years, Altran is to port its pre-integrated and validated 5G NR (new radio) software offering on the Qualcomm 5G radio access network (RAN) platform for small cells (FSM100xx).

The partnership will aim to accelerate development time and lower development cost for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) building high-speed, low-latency private and public 5G small cells and radio units based on the Qualcomm 5G RAN platform while creating an open 5G RAN solution with optimised Altran 5G L2 and L3 RAN software.

The software solution is said to address both Sub6 and mmWave deployment use cases for telecom operators, private networks and both integrated enterprise and open radio access network (Open RAN)-compliant enterprise small cells.

Giving more context to the partnership with Qualcomm, Altran said the rewards for creating a compelling offering in the market space were potentially very high.

It cited a recent report by Grand View Research, which projected that the global small-cell 5G network market would reach $28bn by 2027, growing at a compound annual rate of 78%.

The company added that fuelling this explosive growth would be intelligent industry transformation, enterprise use cases and telecom operators’ and private 5G networks’ need for better indoor coverage.

The engagement between Altran and Qualcomm aims to provide a mature 5G platform addressing these needs along with usage for Citizens Broadband Radio Service across multiple vertical markets, public safety and defence tactical communications scenarios.

“This 5G relationship is built on longstanding, trusted and successful cooperation between both companies from the 4G era, and leverages the in-depth expertise the companies bring in enabling 5G connectivity infrastructure,” said Brian Bronson, managing director for the Americas and APAC, engineering and R&D at Capgemini.

“Altran 5G CU and DU control plane software and the Qualcomm 5G RAN platform for small cells together aim to be a transformative force for private and public 5G networks,” he said. “This combination of the industry’s best independent, feature-rich 5G control plane and a mature 5G RAN platform will accelerate development of the overall 5G OEM and ODM ecosystem.”

“Qualcomm Technologies is very happy to be working with Altran to usher in the 5G era by accelerating impactful private and public 5G networking use cases, and helping our customers get to market faster and with better products,” said Gerardo Giaretta, senior director of product management at Qualcomm Technologies

“Building on the successful cooperation in 4G, Altran software and the Qualcomm 5G RAN platform for small cells are designed to provide a powerful combination to help our customers unlock the full potential of 5G mmWave and sub-6 networks.”

Altran’s 5G software framework is designed to helps OEMs accelerate their 5G RAN solution development, and provides a choice to the original device manufacturer (ODM) community to integrate Altran 5G software as an independent solution to their disaggregated open RAN hardware.

The software supports both standalone and non-standalone modes of operation, supporting enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), ultra-reliable and low-latency communications and massive machine-type communications deployment use cases for telecommunications, enterprise and industrial solutions.