-- Open RAN is Set to Enable Faster and Cost-effective 4G Coverage in Ireland

Parallel Wireless, Inc., the leading U.S.-based Open RAN company delivering the 
world's only 2G 3G 4G 5G O-RAN solution for rural and urban connectivity, today 
announced that Vodafone Ireland, the best and the fastest network provider in 
the country, is the first to roll out Open RAN sites across the North West 
region using Parallel Wireless O-RAN software to deliver new 4G service to 30 
locations in a faster and more cost-efficient way.

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Amid growing demand for mobile broadband services, mobile operators face CAPEX 
and OPEX deployment challenges with bringing new coverage or capacity to their 
end users. 

Open RAN is an industry approach to define and build 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G RAN 
solutions based on a general-purpose, vendor-neutral hardware and 
software-defined technology with open interfaces between the components. Open 
RAN allows mobile operators to mix and match radio, software and server 
suppliers hence delivering supplier diversity, flexibility in deployments and 
TCO reduction. Open RAN CAPEX spent is predicted to reach over $40 billion and 
to account for over 50% total RAN spend by 2026.

Vodafone has been a leading proponent of Open RAN driving industry innovation 
to reduce deployment cost and avoid vendor lock-in, recently requiring their 
vendors to support O-RAN split option 7.2 to ensure interoperability. Vodafone 
has had TIP Open RAN trials ongoing in DRC and Turkey with Parallel Wireless ( 
https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=2978839-1&h=1028861329&u=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.brandfolder.io%2FD8DI15S7%2Fas%2Fc5tx5crn45cch6w3nrz39s%2FOpenRAN_VF_TK_Playbook_FINAL.pdf&a=Turkey+with+Parallel+Wireless 
). Parallel Wireless' ALL G cloud-native O- RAN solution has shown very strong 
performance, quality of service and cost benefits for the operator.

In Ireland, the sites are being built on an O-RAN architecture with a Remote 
Radio Unit (RRU) provided by Comba Telecom, Parallel Wireless Distributed Unit 
(DU) and Central Unit (CU) software running on a vBBU (virtual Baseband Unit) 
provided by Supermicro and deployed on site. The DU/CU software connects to 
Parallel Wireless' Near Real-time Intelligent Controller (RIC), located in a 
Dublin data center on HP hardware using VMWare ESXi v6.7 virtualized 
environment.

The announcement today follows a commitment from Vodafone Group to use Open RAN 
technology for at least 2,600 sites in the UK. It is the largest commitment to 
Open RAN made by any European carrier. Open RAN promises to help build and 
expand wireless networks across the regions that Vodafone serves, and provide 
next-generation digital services to end users, communities and businesses.

Supporting quotes

Didier Clavero, Chief Technology Officer, Vodafone Ireland, said, "Delivering 
Open RAN sites is a pivotal moment in the provision of mobile coverage to rural 
communities in Ireland, as this pioneering new approach reduces cost, increases 
flexibility and enables new suppliers to support the expansion of Vodafone's 
mobile network in hard to reach areas. Focusing on the North West region to 
begin with, we will continue to identify communities across Ireland where we 
can more economically introduce access to voice and high-speed data using the 
new technology."

Keith Johnson, Chief Operation Officer, Parallel Wireless, said, "The telecom 
industry is demanding networks that are open and flexible in order to reduce 
deployment and maintenance cost. We are pleased to be working with Vodafone 
Ireland to enable an open ecosystem of disaggregated RAN solutions based on 
open interfaces and O-RAN standards, helping to expand coverage quickly and 
cost effectively and make a positive impact in the lives of end users with Open 
RAN."

About Parallel Wireless

At Parallel Wireless, we believe that software has the power to unleash amazing 
opportunities for the world. We disrupt the ways wireless networks are built 
and operated. We are reimagining how hardware, software and the cloud work 
together to change deployment economics for our customers. Our ALL G O-RAN 
software platform forms an open, secure and intelligent RAN architecture to 
deliver wireless connectivity, so all people can be connected whenever, 
wherever, and however they choose. We are engaged with over 50 global MNOs and 
have been recognized with over 74 industry awards. At the core of what we do is 
our team of Reimaginers who value innovation, collaboration, openness and 
customer success. For more information, visit: www.parallelwireless.com. 
Connect with Parallel Wireless on LinkedIn ( 
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) and Twitter ( 
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).

SOURCE Parallel Wireless

CONTACT: Eugina Jordan, VP, Marketing, Parallel Wireless, 
Ejordan@parallelwireless.com, 978-660-8659