Enabling End-to-end 5G Networks on Arm

By Chris Bergey, SVP and GM, Infrastructure Line of Business, Arm

This has been a milestone year in the adoption of 5G. Commercial 5G networks are now live in more than 60 markets around the world. On top of that, the number of 5G connections is expected to reach 692 million globally by the end of this year. This is only the beginning and in the coming years more infrastructure will be required to achieve the true potential of 5G; the majority of which will be powered by Arm-based chips. These networks will evolve to enable more complex technology capabilities, improved provisioning and enhanced service offerings that will unlock new use-cases and revenue streams.

The rapid pace of deployment underscores how critical it is that we achieve faster development of network and edge infrastructure solutions to unleash the benefits of 5G to everyone, including those in emerging economies with limited or no access to connectivity. To do this, operators are seeking greater choice and flexibility in future systems, and Arm is positioned to help deliver that through our vast and robust partner ecosystem.

With support from key players in the industry, today we are announcing the Arm 5G Solutions Lab in partnership with Tech Mahindra, a leading provider of digital transformation, consulting, business re-engineering services and solutions, and one of the key 5G systems integrators for Communication Service Providers and Engineering R&D partner for Communications Technology Providers.

The Arm 5G Solutions Lab will focus on accelerating innovation for network infrastructure by providing a place for Arm’s hardware and software ecosystem partners to come together and demonstrate end-to-end solutions in a live test environment. Given the incredible momentum that’s been building within the OpenRAN community, we see a need to enable operators and enterprises looking to deploy private networks to gain easy access to multi-vendor platforms. The Lab will provide secure access to partners and operators to validate solutions and gain confidence in new technologies across a range of critical use-cases such as small cells, macro cells, private 5G networks, cloud RAN, RAN Intelligence Controller (RIC), and core network.

The power of collaboration

The speeds and feeds of a strong network solution is undoubtedly important, but to further enable telcos and vendors to deploy an infrastructure that can support the promise and potential of a 5G world, it requires participation across the industry.

The Arm 5G Solutions Lab serves as a confluence where software and hardware developers, operators, and cloud service providers can come together to define KPIs, blueprints and deployment guides to help bring innovations in 5G alive and ultimately, generate revenue faster. We envision the Lab as a catalyst for the Arm ecosystem to develop and deploy a 5G network infrastructure that leverages the inherent benefits of performance, power, and cost of the Arm architecture.

This initiative is only possible with the help of the Arm ecosystem, and already we’ve seen incredible support for the Lab by a broad set of industry leaders from cloud service providers like Google Cloud, silicon and hardware providers like EdgeQ, GIGABYTE, Marvell, NVIDIA, NXP, and Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. , operators including DISH and Vodafone, software partners such as Accelleran, Mavenir, Parallel Wireless, Radisys, Saankhya Labs, and Tech Mahindra, as well as organizations like GSMA. I look forward to seeing how ecosystem support evolves to help fulfill the need for faster innovation and agility in network technology.

We expect the Arm 5G Solutions Lab will be available to developers by early 2022. For those wanting more details on how to get involved please visit the Arm 5G Solutions Lab page.

Supporting Partner Quotes

Accelleran

“Accelleran is thrilled to be part of the Arm 5G Solutions Lab with its dRAX RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC) platform. This initiative will undoubtedly foster innovation in the 5G ecosystem by lowering the barrier of entry for partners to explore new solutions including xApps/rApps development.” – Stan Claes, CEO, Accelleran

DISH

“At DISH, we are forging a new path, building the nation’s first 5G network that’s both based in the cloud and built upon an Open RAN framework. The Arm 5G Solutions Lab is a place where we can collaborate and leverage the great work being done by the entire Arm partner ecosystem. Together, we’ll drive innovation that will help fuel DISH’s future solutions for customers across a range of industries, delivering on the promise of true 5G.”– Sidd Chenumolu, Vice President of Technology Development, DISH

EdgeQ

“EdgeQ was founded on the vision of reconstituting the wireless infrastructure in a completely open and frictionless manner. We are encouraged to see Arm’s 5G Solution Labs democratizing customers’ ability to access and consume innovative solutions like EdgeQ’s fully programmable 5G Base Station-on-a-chip. Where EdgeQ lowers the 5G entry barrier through a platform of silicon hardware and customizable RAN software for small cells and macro base stations alike, the Arm 5G Solutions Lab embraces this spirit in ecosystem completeness, outreach, and community.” – Adil Kidwai, Head of Product Management, EdgeQ

GIGABYTE

“GIGABYTE has seen the efficiency and TCO benefits of the Arm-architecture in our Ampere Altra servers for the cloud and edge server markets. There is tremendous potential for the types of innovations that will be discovered, created and tested in the Arm 5G Solutions Lab, and we are proud to support this effort by Arm to bring the industry together and better enable developers.” – Akira Hoshino, Head of Product Strategy and Planning, GIGABYTE

Google Cloud

“5G networks can bring unprecedented value to enterprises and consumers, and this will require new partnerships across the broad ecosystem of hardware suppliers, software providers, and telecom operators. Google Cloud is excited to be partnering with Arm on its 5G Solutions Lab to build innovative approaches that will accelerate 5G technology development and deployment.” – Ankur Jain, Distinguished Engineer and Head of Engineering for Google Cloud for Telecom & Google Distributed Cloud

GSMA

“The mobile industry is one of the most powerful and public platforms in the world. By the end of 2021, 5G networks will cover a fifth of the global population. This initiative engages with the wider ecosystem, to nurture 5G-enabled innovations. The GSMA believes that as intelligent connectivity gathers speed and intensity, it brings limitless possibilities. We look forward to working with Arm and the rest of the ecosystem to unleash the full potential of 5G.” – Alex Sinclair, Chief Technology Officer, GSMA

Marvell

“Marvell is thrilled to be part of Arm’s 5G solutions lab initiative to facilitate new and innovative 5G use cases with our unique end-to-end RAN platform spanning compute, networking, security and electro-optics. Our field-proven OCTEON Fusion^® baseband family will help global operators, infrastructure vendors and cloud providers deliver high-performance, virtualized, software-defined RAN infrastructure at cloud-scale.” – Raj Singh, EVP, Processors Business Group, Marvell

Mavenir

“As 5G deployments gain momentum around the world and we look towards 6G, the importance of open and dynamically programmable networks is well recognized. As a strong proponent of open and cloud-native network infrastructure of the future, Mavenir is glad to collaborate with Arm to implement end-to-end network solutions. The open telco infrastructure needs an ecosystem of general-purpose compute suppliers, and this collaboration with Arm is aligned with that objective.” – Pardeep Kohli, President and CEO, Mavenir

NVIDIA

“Network providers are seeking more choice in how they create and deploy 5G systems. The Arm 5G Solutions Lab brings the ecosystem together, enabling developers to build and test on Arm to deliver more diversity in network infrastructure solutions. This is critical as we enter the era of AI-on-5G.” –Soma Velayutham, General Manager, AI and 5G, NVIDIA.

NXP

“Arm’s 5G Solutions Lab underscores the open, software-defined nature of the 5G infrastructure landscape, with products based on NXP and other silicon devices. As NXP and Arm are both focused on technical and innovation leadership, this lab will accelerate new 5G deployments by showcasing our collaborative work on interoperability and performance – which in turn, will help accelerate new 5G NR solutions for the global market.” – Tareq Bustami, senior vice president and general manager, Network Edge, NXP Semiconductors

Parallel Wireless

“Parallel Wireless is helping Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) across the globe to create open and interoperable networks. We are happy to be part of the Arm 5G Solutions Lab ecosystem along with many other labs, participating in software trials to further enable an open and collaborative approach to a wide variety of solution stack use cases.” – Steve Papa, CEO and Founder, Parallel Wireless

Radisys

“Radisys is a leader in open telecom solutions, and we are pleased to join with Arm and like-minded partners in accelerating an open and interoperable 5G ecosystem through collaboration in the new Arm 5G Solutions Lab. Our cloud-native Connect RAN 5G Software Suite is compliant with 3GPP R16 specifications and Open RAN architectures and can be integrated with a variety of hardware options, expanding the open ecosystem. We look forward to working closely within the Arm 5G Solutions Lab community to support multiple use cases.” – Munish Chhabra, Head of Mobility Software and Services, Radisys

Qualcomm Technologies Inc.

“Qualcomm Technologies has been leading the cellular infrastructure industry for over a decade with our Qualcomm® RAN Platforms for small cells and helping to deliver the promise of 5G. We understand that realizing the true benefits of the 5G era requires collaboration and openness across the ecosystem and we are proud to support Arm’s 5G Solutions Lab to ease development of next-generation infrastructure for software and hardware developers.” – Durga Malladi, senior vice president and general manager, 5G, mobile broadband and infrastructure, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.

Saankhya Labs

“India is at the cusp of a 5G revolution. India’s telecom ecosystem comprised of network operators and OEMs/ODM’s such as Saankhya Labs are actively pursuing development of modular and interoperable best-in-class hardware and software to build 5G networks. The broad deployment of 5G hinges on the ability to maintain performance and efficiency while keeping TCO low, and the Arm 5G Solutions Lab is bringing together the best in the industry to further collaborate and built solutions that can power the next-generation 5G infrastructure.” –Parag Naik, Co-Founder and CEO, Saankhya Labs

Tech Mahindra

“5G is the network of the future, but we must put tools in the hands of developers to see the full promise of 5G come to life. Tech Mahindra has focused investments in providing engineering R&D enablement to 5G/Open RAN providers such as – Original Equipment Manufacturers, Independent Software Vendors, Test and Verification Vendors, and Communication Silicon Solution providers. In this partnership with Arm on the Arm 5G Solutions Lab, Tech Mahindra is committed to providing the best-in-class 5G/Open RAN engineering experience and scalable 5G lab infrastructure so that developers can build and test new ideas, and do so in a secure and collaborative space alongside key players in the industry.” – Sandeep Phadke, SVP and Head of Europe (Communications Media, Entertainment and Technology Business), Tech Mahindra

Vodafone

“The creation of the Arm 5G Solutions Lab is a positive move for the industry. It will help accelerate the development and introduction of Arm-based solutions to benefit the overall Open RAN ecosystem and broaden the range of solutions available to mobile operators.” – Andy Dunkin, Open RAN RF & Digital Platform Development Manager, Group Network Architecture, Vodafone