DZS’s OpenRAN Mobile xHaul Solution wins at the Asian Telecom Awards with Rakuten Mobile

The innovator was awarded the Infrastructure Initiative of the Year.

With 5G technology gradually rolling out to replace and improve current telecommunications infrastructure, efforts by DZS towards providing the necessary equipment did not go unnoticed as they won the Infrastructure Initiative Award at the Asian Telecom Awards 2022. 

The awards program recognises key players in the telecom industry in Asia tracing its heritage from Asian Mobile News which started in 2003. DZS distinguished itself with the DZS Chronos C1216RO, a hardened, Open RAN, fronthaul gateway with a dense package of features and cost-effective deployment and maintenance costs.

The gateway is a core part of Rakuten Mobile’s groundbreaking Open RAN network. Announced in 2018, it is the industry’s first cloud-native and fully virtualised mobile network. Rakuten is redefining how service providers design and deploy networks of the future. 

The DZS Chronos C1216RO provides the flexibility, mobility, and ease of deployment necessary for the successful rollout of 5G across the world. The Open RAN fronthaul gateway (FHG) has been deployed at Rakuten Mobile’s network, with over 17,000 units, serving more than 5 million Rakuten subscribers. 

DZS’s trailblazing and proven solution eclipses the competition and alternative offerings that are still in their trial phases. Key advantages that DZS provides with the C1216RO include reduced deployment and low maintenance costs. 

Rakuten’s interest in the Open RAN fronthaul gateway solution emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic, as supply chains were greatly affected and the company’s rollouts were impacted by low supplies of conventional Radio Interface Units (RIUs). Rakuten’s relationship with DZS has yielded measurable results, as Rakuten has been able to match or even exceed their competitors’ upload and download speeds, providing better video streaming, gaming, and voice application experiences to subscribers. 

Integrating the C1216RO into the Rakuten network supported the company’s aggressive rollout plan. Cell site deployment became repeatable regardless of location, density, base station type, and band plans. Rakuten was able to quickly and efficiently expand its reach to support millions of subscribers and allow more room for expansion at no cost to the quality of its service. Rakuten essentially became the front-haul gateway’s testing ground, deriving favourable results for the innovative mobile carrier in Japan. 

Released back in February 2021 as part of the DZS Chronos mobile transport portfolio, the C1216RO is an Open RAN Time Sensitive Network (TSN) switch that allows service providers to redirect traffic from radio antenna sites to centralised vDU units. The open design of the TSN allows for an optimised equipment footprint and consolidates separate components’ functionality. 

The C1216RO’s interfaces concurrently support 4G, 5G, and Wi-Fi services, and are equipped with GPS receivers. This dense package of features provides Grand Master high precision Class C synchronisation for radio and vDU network equipment, as the packet also includes integrated CPRI to eCPRI conversion, multiple 10/25GE radio side interfaces, and 2x100GE uplink redundancy.

Established as a pioneer in mobile xHaul, DZS has released over 1.5 million mobile xHaul ports globally, improving services worldwide. They have also become part of the backbone for many of the world’s leading service providers. In South Korea alone, DZS has been providing vital 5G infrastructure to operators such as KT and LG U+. With this award, DZS continues to display its prowess when it comes to offering the industry’s most advanced and cost-effective OpenRAN front-haul gateway.