Hutchison Telecommunications Lanka (Private) Limited and its infrastructure partner edotco Services Lanka (Private) Limited (edotco) have launched an Open-RAN trial, to further reduce the cost of GB data and thereby passing the cost-benefit to its customers.
According to local media reports, the trial Open-RAN site was deployed at Polatthapitya in the Kurunegala District. The trial will reportedly be carried out using edotco’s ‘multi-purpose lamp pole site, which is a small-cell antenna enabled telecommunication infrastructure known to facilitate seamless connectivity in both urban and rural settings.
The Malaysia-based vendor currently operates a solid infrastructure network of 500 multi-purpose lamp pole sites.
Traditional mobile radio networks were supplied by a single vendor in a region or specific technology such as 3G or 4G. Both the hardware and software had to be procured from the same vendor as a ‘closed proprietary system” limiting vendor choices and negotiating power, said local media.
Hutch Chief Executive Officer Thirukumar Nadarasa said, “Hutch is embraced by customers as the most affordable data service provider whilst delivering a superior broadband data experience over an advanced 4G network of over 2400 sites nationwide. We are pleased to initiate this pilot project with our partner edotco, which promises to deliver enhanced cost benefits."
Thirukumar added: "Deployment of initiatives like Open-RAN must not merely be for the sake of deploying the latest technology but should focus on enhancing the lives of people. The effort taken by edotco as the end-to-end infrastructure and solution integration partner for this project is most commendable.”
